Skip to main content

9 in 10 building professionals consider abroad move, survey shows

Professionals are being lured abroad by the prospects of a career overseas, with nine in 10 (90.72%) of those working in the built environment sector considering a move. Research into professionals’ motivations to move abroad, conducted by specialist recruitment site CareerStructure.com, reveals the considerable appeal of working overseas. The prospect of greater salaries, better career opportunities and new experiences has encouraged most of the 1,564 professionals based all over the world who responded to
August 9, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
RSSProfessionals are being lured abroad by the prospects of a career overseas, with nine in 10 (90.72%) of those working in the built environment sector considering a move.

Research into professionals’ motivations to move abroad, conducted by specialist recruitment site 7444 CareerStructure.com, reveals the considerable appeal of working overseas.

The prospect of greater salaries, better career opportunities and new experiences has encouraged most of the 1,564 professionals based all over the world who responded to the CareerStructure.com survey to consider looking abroad for their next position. But, for half of professionals, the UK is simply becoming a less attractive place to work – with a perception of lower salaries and lacking workloads.

The locations with the most lure include Dubai (63%), closely followed by Abu Dhabi (61%) and Qatar (56%). This may be due to the perception that these countries offer the best salaries, and that there are more work prospects there. Indeed, six in 10 believe Qatar has more opportunities than the UK. These regions are closely followed by English-speaking countries, with professionals keen to work in Australia (48%), Canada (43%), the US (41%), and New Zealand (34%) being similarly appealing.  

Many professionals expressed an interest in moving to work on specific projects abroad – 55% would move to China to work on Sky City, and 68% would move to Singapore to work on The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city.

For many, this would not be a mere short-term trip: even although two-thirds already have experience of working abroad, half would move abroad on a long term basis.

Top 5 reasons for relocating were, in descending order, higher salary, good career opportunities, experience, quality of life, and good employment benefits.

A total of 111 traffic and transport-related professionals from within the overall built environment sector survey sample group took part in the research. Again, more than nine out of 10 (96.4%) saying they were considering a move abroad.

Rob Searle, commercial director of CareerStructure.com, said, “Experience abroad can potentially boost professionals employment prospects, by providing them with new opportunities and experiences. However, with such high levels of professionals considering a move abroad, it’s apparent that the UK is losing its appeal and could now potentially be losing many of its talented professionals to other countries.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road surface quality is vital to safety and policing - TISPOL 2015 conference
    January 18, 2016
    The state of Europe’s road surfaces “is absolutely vital” if TISPOL, the European Traffic Police Network, is going to achieve its target of halving road deaths across the continent by 2020 says AA president Edmund King Speaking at the 2015 TISPOL annual conference in Manchester, King warned that the deteriorating state of Europe’s road pavements has become “a serious problem” and that the number of potholes is now an important road safety issue for the enforcement community.
  • Highway 99 revisited
    March 6, 2024
    David Arminas recently returned to Seattle for an inside look at some of the features of the now-complete SR99 tunnel that was a World Highways key project report in November 2017.
  • UK’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance – ALARM – survey
    June 16, 2017
    Within years, one in six UK local roads will need repairs or face closure, according to the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance – ALARM – survey. The cumulative effect of an ageing network, decades of underfunding, increased traffic and wetter winters has led to around 17% of all UK local roads reportedly in poor structural condition, with less than five years of life remaining. The 22nd annual ALARM survey is a comprehensive study into local road maintenance funding and conditions. Local authori
  • Planning the world's rural transport systems
    February 8, 2012
    China Hosts Major International Convention on Rural Roads. Given the crucial importance of rural roads in the global development context, IRF is according the issue priority focus this year by co-hosting its 2nd International Convention on Rural Roads. This will be convened in Jinan City, Shandong, China, from 26-29 October 2010, in association with the global Transport Knowledge Partnership (gTKP) and the China Highway and Transportation Society (CHTS). Following the landmark success of the inaugural IRF g