Young professionals: Students should be encouraged to work in Mauritius

Since some years, Mauritius is being affected by the issue of brain drain. Many young professionals are leaving Mauritius for better quality of life, higher salaries, access to advanced technology and more stable political conditions in the developed countries. Mauritius invests massively in education and provides scholarships to many students. The main question today is how to encourage young professionals to work in Mauritius after their studies. 

Glorine Maloupe: “Invest more in human capital”  

Further studies are the ambitions of many of our youngsters and most of the time, their choices turned up to study abroad, says Glorine.  “In Mauritius, many of our youth prefer to study abroad for many reasons. Study abroad might be as well a good opportunity for them to learn about the cultures of other countries’ culture and to share ours also. The fact is that many of them go with the intention to build their future there. Year in and year out, with each arrival of HSC results, our government spend millions on laureates, which is in a way an encouragement for them to come back and serve the country. We could not turn a deaf ear to the recent appeal of our Prime Minister who asks our youth to come back and serve our nation. In order to save Mauritius from the brain drain of our youth, the different Ministers need to invest in human capital, which is of paramount concern for the retention of economic stability. Sustainable economic stability is achievable where our young graduates need to be given opportunities to participate in the financial infrastructural development of organizations. It should also be underlined that the age of the retirement to 65 years needs to be reviewed. The last factor to be added will be the setting up of new organizations that can create employment opportunities. We have a lot of potential among our young people, who can undoubtedly bring our country provided that our government comes up with appropriate measures.”

Neha Hittoo: “Sensitisation of young people is needed” 

Neha argues that many youngsters are of the opinion that their future career is not secure in Mauritius and this is why they choose to settle abroad. “To encourage young people to serve the country, campaigns should be carried out in schools to convince young people that Mauritius needs their expertise and knowledge acquired to help Mauritius to shine at international level. Besides, offering more appealing jobs as well as higher income, young people will be encouraged to invest their passion and competence. For example, marine science is a new sector which is emerging in Mauritius and will definitely provide new jobs. In addition, it is very important to recognise each and every walk of life. For example, in the realm of sports and music, athletes and artists are not granted much value. However, in other countries, the grass is greener and this is why some people refuse to come back. I believe that if the government supports the new generation with all the facilities needed and lays more emphasis on the employment sector, the young citizens will surely come back to serve the country.” 

Mitch Lebouc: “Transparency and fairness should be promoted”

Many universities have opened their doors in Mauritius but unfortunately, the supply of graduates does not meet the demand for labour in the Mauritian market, says Mitch. “The government of Mauritius should stimulate the new and dynamic sectors such as the financial and tourism sectors. Since the financial services sector has already created around 15 000 high skilled jobs, we observe that more jobs could be absorbed from this dynamic sector. The Global business, for instance, is a sub sector of the financial sector and the government should take full advantage of it, especially through increased employment. Secondly, the Ministry of Education has set up the Nine Year Basic Continuous Education and this might be an asset for our educational system but it would be better to have a career advisor in each secondary school so as to advise students in their choice of subjects corresponding to the demand for labour in the Mauritian market. This will certainly reduce the supply of graduates in fields that are not in demand and students will be more confident about securing a job in the island.”  He further adds “transparency and fairness continue to take a setback in the island economy, as Mauritius settles for fourth place on transparency index. The country is still fighting against corruption but there is still a long way to go. We can observe frustration among the youths when it comes to recruitment in the public sector and this is one of the main reasons why many of our young graduates prefer to study abroad. They are more confident about securing a job elsewhere rather than in their country. As long as the country will struggle to improve transparency in recruitment, we cannot expect Mauritian students studying abroad to return in the island.”

Nishta Jooty: “Practical support and guidance must be provided” 

Nishta reveals that the return of skilled young Mauritians is crucial to the development of our country. “Incentives are needed to encourage them to return to Mauritius, where their knowledge and skills can benefit the country’s development. People, organisations, and government, everyone has their part to play to facilitate their successful and sustainable. There should be mechanisms in place to facilitate their social and economic reintegration into Mauritian society. Tax incentives or business funding can be offered to kick-start their careers. Returnees who want to start businesses often complain about administrative obstacles. Practical support and guidance must be provided to these people. A vibrant and dynamic environment, various opportunities in fields such as research and innovation and a culture of entrepreneurship should be created to retain talent.”

She states that finding a suitable job can be tough in a country where personal contacts often play a more important role than skills and knowledge. “Issues such as nepotism and lack of meritocracy should be eliminated as an individual will choose to live wherever his skills will be most valued. Networks play a key role: successful returnees reach out to their peers who have not returned, informing them of opportunities and creating a social network. Students may be drawn home for social and cultural factors. The Mauritian culture should be promoted at an international level to create a sense of belonging among Mauritians living abroad. On the other hand, a lifestyle that is similar to that available abroad should be accessible in Mauritius. More entertainment, leisure and social activities should be organised.”  

Shaheen Naujeer: “Creating a wide range of opportunities for young professionals”  

Shaheen believes that after finishing their studies, in search of better opportunities, young Mauritians have a tendency to settle abroad, as they know that here in Mauritius, the rate of unemployment is high and abroad there are many more benefits allocated to them while working. “In order to encourage them to return to Mauritius, why not create the same opportunities here itself that they are enjoying abroad, which are high salaries, job security, car allowance and the guarantee of a job after studying. The Mauritian government must encourage more investment from different developing countries in different fields, as this will help in decreasing the level of unemployment in Mauritius and simultaneously encouraging the youngsters to return, as a job is a motivating factor to come back and serve the country, because no one ever wants to study 3- 4 years and then be unemployed. Having Mauritian young people staying abroad is a great loss to Mauritius. The resources of Mauritius lie in the future generations. Therefore, if all the logistics are configured appropriately: good salaries based on qualifications and the benefits entailed through the job, they will come back. We need them here, they are the future of Mauritius.”  

Moozafar Cheergally: “More sectors should be developed”  

In the actual economic context in Mauritius, young Mauritians studying abroad are not willing to return and to serve their country, declares Moozafar. “High rate of unemployment, no scope for a good career, a lack of foreign investment; all these contribute to discourage those studying abroad to come back. Many graduates find themselves unemployed or jobs in the field in which they have studied are not available. The high rate of unemployment is a big factor preventing youngsters to return to their homeland. The government must find solutions to decrease the rate of unemployment and hence increase foreign investments. Else what’s the use of spending large sums of money in studying. The government should also develop other sectors other than finance and tourism. This will encourage youngsters to pursue their education in other fields like the environment, scientific research and so on.” Moreover, he argues that in Mauritius, people close to political affiliates tends to get a job more easily, irrespective of their qualifications. “This has to stop. It will not only discourage youngsters to return to serve their country but also those studying here in Mauritius as well. The government should help youngsters who want to do business. This will lead to the creation of jobs. There is a high demand of white collar jobs and if the government does not find solutions to increase foreign investment reducing the rate of unemployment, youngsters studying abroad will tend to pursue their careers outside Mauritius.”

Najaah Parahoo: “More assistance to young people” 

There is a high degree of cynicism prevailing in the mind of young people who study abroad whether to get a job in Mauritius or not, says Najaah. “They are reluctant to come back and serve the country, as they believe that certain kinds of favoritism are being practiced towards certain groups at the expense others. A fresh strategy of job allocation should be employed on the foundation of merit rather than religious groups and ethnic minorities which should not be considered as a factor in the recruitment process. A stable democratic transition would stimulate its own power of pulling back people. Democracy should be fortified to ensure a worthy functioning of the institutions. The Mauritian Government should assist these young people in creating their own business by encouraging more foreign direct investment to sustain their projects. More resources should be deployed for them to display their potentials and skills to be channelled productively. This will help to attain a long term vision by reshaping the future of Mauritius.” 

For her, the expansion of the private sector should invest massively to inspire more young people who study abroad to join their companies by providing them the best positions at the managerial level in order to exhibit their talents, know-how and diversity that they had acquired from abroad. “This will help to address the diverse needs of the organisations, as it will operate on a more efficient and innovative basis. If our country does not do its level best to attract the Mauritian students from overseas, it will be a potential loss for Mauritius.”