Belgian managers are in demand

More and more Belgians leave the country to work abroad, according to John Attenborough, from PMO, Prospective Management Overseas. Since not all of them are registered in an embassy, it’s difficult to know the exact number of expats. The organization VIM, Vlamingen in de wereld, tries to find out how many Belgians work abroad and has information about the education, gender, occupation and age of the expats. Men are in the majority and although a lot of young people are enthusiastic to leave the country, the real topmanagers abroad are between 45 and 50 years old. Belgians are beloved in the foreign board of directors because of several qualities, such as flexibility, multilingualism, diplomacy and adaptability. Some can perfectly work in an organisation with a total different culture. These qualities can be important to function in an environment of globalisation. Many “High potentials” think that work in Belgium is too limited. There are mostly small and medium enterprises. Big enterprises generally moved to foreign countries. That’s why they search a bigger challenge and experience abroad. Most of the expats prefer to stay in the foreign country. So when they come back, it’s usually for a personal reason.

Jana Jonckheere
Source: http://www.trends.be/nl/archief/2003/24%20april%202003/De+machtigste+Belgen+++in+het+buitenland-6298-214076.html