What is the situation with foreign talents in the UK then?

I have to thank my reader Jacob Stradivarius for this question - he wanted to know if the situation when it comes to foreign talents (or foreign workers, anyone foreign working in the country) in the UK is similar to that of Singapore. The simple answer is no - Singapore's situation is quite unique because of the combination of a few key factors. Sure we have plenty of foreign workers in the UK (mostly from the EU), but the situation is very different from that of Singapore especially when it comes to the way foreign workers are perceived.  I shall do a LIFT classic: let's compare & contrast these to find out why the situation in Singapore is so different from the UK!

Factor 1: Geography & The size of the country

Singapore is a tiny country and whilst the UK is a relatively big country - in practice, that means the opportunity for British people to move to a different part of the country if you're not happy or satisfied with your life for whatever reason. For example, if you're from a small town in Devon or Cornwall and there are limited employment opportunities, you may choose to move to a big city like London, Manchester or Birmingham where there are far more opportunities. Or if you're a retired person tired of living in a big city, you might decide to move down to a small village in Devon or Cornwall. Different parts of the country offer different opportunities and lifestyles - even the climate can be very different whether you're down on the south coast or up in the Scottish Highlands.

On the other hand, whilst Singapore is already a big, cosmopolitan thriving city with plenty to offer, if you don't like the way things are in Singapore - well, where can you move to? Given the size of Singapore, Bedok isn't going to be any different from Choa Chu Kang or Yishun - you're simply going to have to leave the country to seek an alternative.

Do they all look the same to you after a while...?

What does this mean in practice? Take a young couple in London who find that property prices are so high (say about £500,000 for a one bedroom flat in a nice neighbourhood in central London) that they cannot afford to get on the property ladder, no problem - they can simply move to somewhere like Northampton where prices for the same one bedroom flat start from around £65,000 and that is just about 110 km from central London. The equivalent of 110 km from Singapore would place you in Ayer Hitam, across the border in Malaysia.

By that token, British people (particularly those in big cities) are quite used to dealing with people who are from another part of the country. I live in London and even the English people I meet are from other parts of England. Let me have a quick look at my Facebook friends who just ten English and currently living in London to illustrate this point:

Most Londoners like me were not born here.

Neil: originally from Liverpool, moved to London for work.
Mark: originally from York, moved to Cambridge, then London for work and education
John: originally from Hull, moved to London for work
Sally: originally from Colchester, moved to London for work
Sophie: originally from Manchester, moved to London for university, now looking for a job in London
Pete: originally from Newcastle, moved to London for work
Ian: originally from Leeds, moved to London as a student with his parents, now working in London
Michael: originally from Bournemouth, moved to London for university
Steve: originally from Birmingham, moved to London for work
Emma: originally from Uxbridge just west of London, now working in London

So roughly just one out of 10 of my English friends in London are actually from London (well, Uxbridge is not really London but at a stretch it can be considered a suburb of Greater London). This is not a new phenomena but something that has been going on for centuries - William Shakespeare was originally from Stratford-upon-Avon but moved to London to seek fame and fortune. So us Londoners are quite used to having colleagues and neighbours who are not from the local area given how we have had this long tradition of internal migration within England.

Our attitudes are shaped by our mental geography of our country - this defines where we feel we belong to. So in the case of Singaporeans, that mental geography places a border very clearly around the territorial waters of Singapore beyond which lies Malaysia and Indonesia - two countries where most Singaporeans do not identify with, thus contributing to this "us" and "them" attitude. Whereas in the UK, we are a much bigger country both in dimension and population - so we identify with a much larger number of people over a far greater geographical area. This is especially the case during events like the 2012 Olympics which brings the country together.

Let's look at an extension of this mental geography.

Factor 2: Politics & The EU vs ASEAN

The UK is part of the European Union - this means we have freedom of movement and labour within the EU. I can go work in Germany, Finland or any other EU country today and hit the ground running without applying for a work permit and the reverse is true as well.  EU nationals have the right to work in the UK and they form the bulk of the 'foreign workers' in the UK (ie. non-British people living and working here). Their status as an EU national is fundamentally different from that of a foreign worker (or foreign talent) in Singapore.

The right of an EU national to live and work in the UK is not dependent on anything apart from his nationality  - whereas in Singapore, the foreign worker requires a work permit issued by the government. This fundamental difference in what may seem like mere paperwork does have a huge impact on the attitude of the locals: in the UK, the vast majority of us simply accept the fact that we have other EU nationals living and working here as a fact of life - we're part of the EU, these are our European neighbours and thus this is part of being in the EU. They can come and work here the same way we can go and work in other EU countries.

What is your mental geography of the world?

Whereas in Singapore, the resentment is there because of this 'us' and 'them' attitude - the majority of Singaporeans don't identify with the migrant workers even from neighbouring ASEAN countries. None of them have the 'right' to work in Singapore and this is completely dependent on them getting a work permit that has to be issued by the government. Compared to the UK, it is a lot easier for the government of Singapore to stem the flow of migrants from all these Asian countries - simply stop issuing and renewing work permits. Et voila, QED.

Many Brits do have the desire to live in other EU countries for a variety of reasons. For example, many older Brits retire to the south of France or Costa del Sol in Spain because of the warmer weather there and the lower cost of living. Many younger Brits often like to seek some work experience in another EU country to make their CV stand out from other job applicants. Singaporeans however, have virtually no desire to go live or work in another ASEAN country, China or India where the bulk of the foreign workers come from - if anything, Singaporeans would much rather move to an English speaking Western country like Australia, Canada, America, New Zealand or the UK.

Would Singaporeans care to move to a place like this?

The UK has a very close working relationship with the EU on so many levels - whilst Singapore has far more of an 'island mentality' when it comes to relating to her neighbours. This results in a very different attitude when it comes to dealing with the issue of 'foreign workers': Brits are far less likely to resent foreign workers than Singaporeans because they have far less of a 'us' vs 'them' attitude when it comes to say an Italian or Belgian national working in the UK, compared to how Singaporeans may feel about a PRC migrant or a Indian national working in their midst. Of course, there are extreme right parties in the UK like UKIP and the BNP who are very anti-immigrant, but I stress that these parties remain on the very fringe of British politics. The main three parties that hold the balance of power (the Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats) all embrace the EU and the migrants that come from the EU.

So Singaporeans do feel very trapped and cornered as a result - those who do not want to leave Singapore feel threatened by this influx of foreign workers. They will have to either put up with the more intense competition or leave Singapore and become an expatriate themselves in another country. Neither options seem particularly attractive to most Singaporeans who are quite content to remain in Singapore (despite Singaporean males having to serve national service). British people have far more options - to either move to a different part of the country, a different country in the EU or even to a place like Singapore which is so foreign talent friendly.

British people have far more choices and options than Singaporeans.

By that token, Brits are better off than Singaporeans because they have more choice than Singaporeans and this choice comes virtue of their nationality, rather than personal merit. If you are a highly skilled successful Singaporean who already has a good job in Singapore, then you have little to worry about as you can either remain in Singapore and enjoy the good life or waltz into another job in any other country. But it is those Singaporeans lower down the food chain, those who were never scholar material, who have to fight for even move into middle management, who are just not skilled enough to get through the Australian immigration points system - they are the ones who feel the most trapped. They can't get a decent job in Singapore and no other country wants them, hence their extreme frustration.

Factor 3: The Language Barrier

Due to the fact that English is the international lingua franca and almost universally taught throughout the EU, virtually all EU migrants to the UK speak English well - this does vary of course. The Dutch and the Swedes are always totally fluent, whilst some others may struggle a bit more. This is very different from the situation in Singapore where the vast majority of PRC migrants do not speak much (or any) English at all and this can cause a lot of social friction with Singaporeans who expect them to make an effort to at least try to learn some English now that they are in Singapore.

Factor 4: The Extremes (or two classes of foreigners) 

Another fundamental difference is there way there are two classes of migrant workers in Singapore - namely, the white collar professionals ('foreign talents') and blue collar workers ('foreign workers'). Let's deal with the former as I am amazed at how Singaporeans bend backwards to welcome these foreign talents, especially if they are white. I have a Dutch friend in Singapore who is being treated like a VIP and given a super generous package despite the fact that he doesn't even have a degree and has far more highly qualified Singaporeans working under him. But that's Singapore for you - that can only happen in Singapore, this Dutch friend has worked in the UK as well where he was just another EU national in a British company, competing with other EU nationals who were more highly qualified than him. The fact that he was white meant nothing since practically everyone else was white - why would he want to work here when he can enjoy special 'Angmoh' VIP treatment in Singapore?

Why do white expatriates enjoy this kind of special VIP treatment in Singapore? I don't know - but there isn't an equivalent in the UK. Why do you Singaporeans bend over backwards for white people? I don't get it.  In the UK, there are no expatriate groups who are treated any better than the locals, they are all just treated the same as everyone else. The situation with Angmohs in Singapore is quite frankly, ridiculous.

Everyone should be treated the same regardless of the colour of their skin.

The other extreme of course, are those at the bottom of the pecking order in Singapore - the domestic workers, the construction workers etc. I am appalled at just how badly they are treated in Singapore. In the UK, those doing the jobs at the lower end of the spectrum tend to be EU nationals from poorer EU countries, but they are not treated as badly. Singaporeans are quite shameless when it comes to being racist towards their Asian neighbours - they have this sense of superiority (based mostly on their country's relative wealth). Sure, I recognize that Singapore is far richer than countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines - but does it in any way justify any kind of racism? No!

The way foreign workers are treated in the UK is different mostly due to their immigration status - a domestic worker from Poland or a construction worker from Slovakia is not dependent on a work permit to remain in the UK. If an employer mistreats them, they will simply go to the police, quit the job and find a new job. Whereas in Singapore, you have so many horror stories of Bangladeshi construction workers and Indonesian/Filipino domestic maids who put up with so much abuse because they are scared of losing their jobs and being deported. The way the PRC striking bus drivers were deported just demonstrates the way foreign workers in Singapore have very little rights. In the UK, we don't have these extremes amongst foreign workers - they're treated far more like the locals and the system is a lot more fair to these foreign workers (especially those lower down the food chain).

Those lower down the food chain are treated a lot better in the UK.

Factor 5: Assimilation vs Segregation

Foreign workers in Singapore on both ends of the spectrum tend to avoid all attempts to assimilate - you have the rich white expatriates who will send their children to international schools, only socialize with other expatriates from their own country and go out of their way to avoid even eating local foods. Then you have the Bangladeshis who work in the construction industry and have little opportunity to mix with anyone outside their own little community because of the long hours they work and the language barrier. Singaporeans, by the same token, view foreigners with a guarded trepidation at best - if not outright hostility and neither the foreigners nor the locals have much desire to bridge the gap.

In the UK however, such segregation is far less common. Most foreign workers from the EU are able to speak English and work alongside their British counterparts, they tend to send their children to local schools instead of international schools. This is all probably because there is far less of a culture gap between EU countries compared to the situation in Singapore, where you have migrant workers with a siege mentality, resisting any attempt to have anything to do with the locals. (There are Americans in Singapore who wouldn't eat at a hawker centre as they consider it unhygienic.)

Factor 6: Here to stay vs here for now

Foreign workers from other EU countries may not always settle in the UK - they come in search of better employment prospects but leave when they lose their job or find something better elsewhere. That happens even within the UK - let me give you an example. Dan is from Birmingham but he went to university in Oxford, his first job was back in Birmingham but he soon managed to find something more suited to his degree in Glasgow So off he moved to Glasgow where he stayed for two years but really didn't get along with his new boss after his old boss left. So he started applying for jobs and found a new opportunity in Cardiff - after working in Cardiff for a year, he managed to get an internal transfer within that company to their London head office where he has been working ever since - he currently brushing up his German as he has applied for a transfer to the Vienna office.

Dan's story is very typical of any young British graduate trying to find the best opportunity out there - you move cities, that is a fact of life here in the UK. Our mental geographies are very different - we are not just British people, but EU nationals who are part of a much bigger geographical area and can move across a much larger area to access different opportunities. Many of my former colleagues I have worked with in London have moved to other places in the EU and beyond - these young European professionals are far more mobile. It is really only when they marry, have kids and settle down that their children's education tends to tie them to one place. Mind you, I see a very similar pattern amongst my Malaysian friends as well who do move around the country for better educational and employment opportunities - it is only Singaporeans who seem extremely reluctant to move because of their 'island mentality'.

Now the situation in Singapore is vastly different: given that the bulk of the foreign workers and new migrants are from two countries: India and China - these migrants are desperate to stay in Singapore. Why wouldn't they? Singapore is the third richest country in the world and offers so much more than India or China - salaries are so much higher in Singapore than in India or China. If these migrants have children, their children probably are going to be better off growing up in Singapore than in India or China. Maybe those who are highly skilled (gosh I think of the number of Indian nationals working at Citibank Singapore) can shop around for other countries to go to (like Australia or Canada), but many lower down the food chain will gladly grab that pink IC gratefully the moment it is offered to them.

What about non-EU foreign workers and migrants in the UK then?

Well yes, there are plenty of non-EU foreign workers (from America, Japan, China, Singapore, India, Canada, Russia etc) who require a work permit to work in the UK and these are limited to only highly skilled professionals. More details on the work permit rules & regulations for the UK can be found here. However, we don't have the situation in Singapore where you need to get foreign workers from countries like Bangladesh and China to do poorly paid jobs that Singaporeans don't want to do - in the UK, we already have a ready supply of migrants from poorer Southern and Eastern European countries to do those jobs and they don't need a work permit as they are EU nationals already, so the work permits really cater only for the very high end of the job market.

Very highly skilled migrants can waltz into any job anywhere.

There are others of course, who make it into the UK via other routes - for example, if an EU national marries a spouse from a non-EU country, that non-EU spouse has the right to come and live and work in the UK on the basis of his/her spousal status (rather than any personal merit per se). There are also cases of asylum seekers who are granted either temporary or permanent leave to remain in the UK; and again, these people are allowed to stay because of the mercy shown by the government towards their plight rather than on their personal merits. Non-EU foreign/migrant workers are still a very small minority compared to EU foreign migrant workers.

So in conclusion...

So there you go, that's my summary of how different the 'foreign talent' situation is in the UK. Personally, I think many Singaporeans are actually quite confused by how it all works in the EU because they are just unable to comprehend how our mental geography is shaped by being a big country (the UK) which is part of an even bigger family of countries (the EU). Contrast that to the island mentality of Singaporeans, well... what can I say? Things are very different here not just because of the geographical and political factors, but mostly because our mindsets are very different to begin with. EU nationals think and feel very different about the issue compared to you Singaporeans, so allow me to end by stating the obvious: never assume that people in other countries feel the same way you do about an issue - they may approach it with a totally different mindset. If you have any other questions with regards to this issue, don't be shy, please let me know - leave a comment below. Thanks for reading! Take it away Hirzi...