Could India be the Next Global Melting Pot?
India is a favorite destination nowadays, attracting not just Madonna, Leo
and other celebs seeking hiatus from all the trappings of Hollywood.
According to a recent Financial Express article, India has been attracting
a lot of job-seeking foreigners from across the globe more than ever since
the outsourcing boom began as early as two years ago.
Headhunter firms in India are not anymore surprised at an American or
European walking in to ask what jobs are available, not to mention the
deluge of emails and overseas phone calls.
During the pre-outsourcing era, foreign executives, usually senior-level
officials, get transferred o India because of specific skills
requirements.
Now headhunters say people age 25 to 55, from high school graduates to
those holding doctorate degrees come to India - and earn the same wage as
their Indian counterparts.
Statistics point out why India could probably this century's first
Promised Land. Unemployment rate in industrialized Western countries grew
by about 6.8% last year, according to a study called Global Employment
Trends.
Meanwhile, the economic growth rate for industrialized countries stands at
2.8% compared to 5.8% for South Asia.
The outsourcing phenomenon has a lot to do with this migration. Based on
what headhunters and Indian companies said, foreigners coming to India can
be roughly classified into two broad categories.
There are those whose skills and field of expertise command similar or
even higher salaries that what they were previously receiving in their
home countries.
On the other hand, there are who voluntarily go to India, since most of
the jobs get outsourced there anyway. In most cases, unless their skills
don't fall into the earlier category, they are paid in rupees equivalent
to what Indian workers are also getting.
Since most of these Indian companies service clients from US and Europe,
they cite the advantage of having somebody around who is at least familiar
with the client's culture and able to communicate better with them.
Bottomline, it's a win-win situation for both sides.
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