In a 2006 field survey of recruitment agencies dealing in finding work for Czechs abroad, it was discovered that the top destinations – U.K. and Ireland – showed the greatest demand for highly skilled professionals such as IT specialists, doctors, nurses and artisans. This survey was included in a report by Jana Vavrečková, a member of the Research Institute for Labor and Social Affairs (VÚPSV). She noted that the experience may be worth more than the money earned.

"The considerably higher incomes on offer are not the only motives encouraging university-educated Czechs to work abroad. Other motivations include the experience it would afford, the generally better-equipped workplaces, the opportunity to make personal contacts and to establish a basis for future career progress," Vavrečková stated in the report.

The VÚPSV also found that most workers who moved abroad may have already had their return in mind, rather than a life-long expatriation. "It is widely thought that the vast majority of highly qualified migrants will return to the Czech Republic after a period and put to advantageous use the experiences gained abroad; in particular, the growing number of transnational companies operating in the Czech Republic makes it reasonable to expect that there will be enormous demand for this kind of skilled labor in the Czech market," Vavrečková said.

Some sectors are particularly hard-hit by the exodus, but not necessarily the high-skilled areas. "We can see the trend of returning Poles from, for example, Ireland, mainly from the construction area," said Luboš Rejchrt, temporary staffing manager for Grafton Recruitment.
Home is where the money is

Kolář said he believes that the specific location a worker came from is a factor. "I would say that people from Prague and its surroundings are more likely to return now because the opportunities and money are in Prague. However, people from poorer regions with higher unemployment rate can still find U.K. quite attractive," he said.

Kolář explained that he may have taken a very different path than many Czechs working the U.K. by advancing his career and not only aiming to save money or get a good experience. "I finished my A levels and my degree in the U.K. and actually have a good job with career prospects," he said. He said he admits that finances did play some role in his decision to go to Britain. "But for me it has been more of a natural progression rather than pure money hunt."

In light of the current economic situation, Kolář said he is considering his options, including those back in the Czech Republic. "With my experience I could easily get a more senior job, unfortunately the pay is still slightly lower than what I would be prepared to accept," he said.

Kolář also doesn’t seem pressured to make a move right away at the risk of disrupting his career path. "I have time to do my cherry picking in terms of jobs, and it seems that eventually there will be time for me to go back home as well," he said. Still, home may eventually be the better option. "I am not a financial expert, but I believe that the pound will not fully recover in future, even when the credit crunch is over, and thus my future is much more likely to be in the Czech Republic than in the U.K.," Kolář said.
Shifting migrant groups beyond Britain

The trend for workers to return home is also affecting countries within the CEE region. Grafton’s Rejchrt noted that with the growing economy of the Czech Republic as well as surrounding countries, the migrant work force is changing locally. "Slovaks or Poles [who worked in the Czech Republic] are starting to return to their countries as the economics in Slovakia and Poland are growing and they have more possibilities to find a good job at home than abroad," he said, adding that as an example the Czech labor market now has difficulty attracting Slovaks, traditionally the largest group of migrant workers in the Czech Republic.

According to an April 2008 report from the Czech News Agency (ČTK), the number of Slovak workers has declined so far this year, in contrast to growing numbers in past years. The report also states that Polish workers are on the decline in the Czech Republic.

With the decline in two major groups of migrant labor – Poles and Slovaks – companies could find themselves short staffed. "This is one of the reasons why companies in the Czech Republic have to start thinking of finding other sources for work force," Rejchrt said.

Luckily with the increased demand, there appears to be an increased supply from outside of the EU. ČTK reported that the numbers of Ukrainian workers increased by 5,000 since the end of last year, while the number of Vietnamese have increased by more than 11,000 since spring of last year. Furthermore, the number of workers from Mongolia, Bulgaria and Romania has increased three times since 2007.

Recruitment agencies tend to be happy with the abilities of this new migrant working group. "Ukrainians, Vietnamese and Mongolians are ranked very positively as employees with strong working morale and high effectiveness at work," Rejchrt said. The only problem is the increased hassle of insuring the workers' legal status. "This brings more administrative work for companies in terms of work permits. All the permissions for working here can take five to six months, so companies have to plan their hiring in advance," Rejchrt said, adding that they hope the process will be faster with a new Green Card program proposed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.