jobs.ch publishes the world’s biggest study on the global job market and asks employees in Zurich and Lausanne what it’s like to work in Switzerland.
In 2011 jobs.ch, Switzerland’s leading online recruitment firm, conducted the third Global Talent Mobility Study together with its partners from The Network. The results show that Switzerland remains extremely popular in the global job market. This is very good news as, without international recruitment, Switzerland could be short of more than 400,000 skilled workers in 20 years’ time.
Around 500,000 new jobs were created in Switzerland between 2000 and 2010 (1). As a consequence various sectors are already struggling with a shortage of skilled workers, a trend that is likely to accelerate in the coming years. Companies now see themselves increasingly obliged to look abroad for their skilled workforce. But how attractive is the Swiss job market when compared internationally?
Switzerland still popular internationally
Switzerland is playing an increasingly significant role on the international job market. 33.3 percent of people asked around the world said they would (2) like to work in Switzerland. As a result of the economic crisis, Switzerland is now a top destination for European employees, moving further up the table in 2011 to take second place behind the United States.
Fig. 1: Top destinations for employees from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Britain.
(1) Swiss Federal Statistical Office
(2) It was possible to give more than one answer. Source: Global Talent Barometer
(http://www.globaltalentbarometer.com/jobs-ch)
It is interesting to note that the willingness to work abroad has increased considerably in recent years. The share for those nine European countries that took part in the first study in 2006 has increased by 10 percent in just five years. It is likely that this is a direct result of the economic crisis: the deterioration of prospects in the home job market means more jobseekers are willing to look for work abroad.
Street interviews about mobility in Zurich and Lausanne
Recent street interviews conducted by jobs.ch in Zurich and Lausanne confirm that Switzerland is a popular place to work. The country was given a positive rating by both Swiss and foreign employees. Loredana Marchino Möller, a physiotherapist from Italy, feels very much at home in Switzerland. She said: “My soul is still in Italy but Switzerland is a good country and I can offer high quality work here – much more so than in Italy. My family and I love the fact that in Switzerland we can meet people from so many different countries.”
René Nussbaumer, a Swiss national and former director of education, sees Switzerland’s multi-cultural diversity as a commitment to openness and globalisation. He said: “It’s all part of it that, on the one hand, people from other countries come and work here and, on the other hand, that we seize opportunities to go abroad to work.”
Click here to see the street interviews in full: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pSL829smj0&context=C350646cADOEgsToPDskJ6Izvre1k31ZSv8YJT4SMj
Study produces key insights
The results of the study could prove fundamental for international recruitment of highly qualified workers in the future. Mark Sandmeier, managing director of jobs.ch, said: “In an increasingly globalised job market, such knowledge is necessary in order to address the right workers at the international level. The Global Talent Mobility Study enables HR managers and recruitment professionals to see correlations in the international job market.”
This is important as Switzerland could be short 411,000 employees by 2030 because of its ageing society. International recruitment therefore is a must. This conclusion was drawn in a study by the Travailsuisse trade union federation. In other words, it is high time that companies start recruiting from beyond Switzerland’s national borders.
About jobs.ch
jobs.ch is Switzerland’s leading online recruitment company for job seekers and employers from all sectors. jobs.ch operates vertical sector platforms in the segments specialist staff and executives (www.topjobs.ch), finance and banking (www.jobs4finance.ch), ICT (www.ictcareer.ch), sales (www.jobs4sales.ch), engineering (www.ingjobs.ch) and healthcare (www.medtalents.ch). The company was founded in 2000 and currently employs more than 100 staff in Zurich and Lausanne. In its anniversary year 2010 jobs.ch posted an order volume of CHF 36 million.
About “The Network”
jobs.ch is a founding member of the global alliance of leading online job sites. “The Network” comprises 49 job sites with a market-leading position in 130 countries.
About the Global Talent Mobility Study
The Global Talent Mobility Study was a survey of the issue of professional mobility conducted worldwide by jobs.ch in conjunction with “The Network” and the market research company “The Intelligence Group”. The survey was carried out for the third time this year after the previous 2 surveys in 2006 and 2009. While 21,000 people took part in the first survey in 2006, between June and September 2011 over 166,000 people from 66 countries completed the questionnaire – in Switzerland over 4,000 people took part in the survey on jobs.ch.
Media contact
Bianca Strasser
jobs.ch ag
Assistant Communications
Tel. 044 254 69 47
bianca.strasser@jobs.ch
www.jobs.ch/en/media