LABOUR/TECHNOLOGY: Romania Faces Severe Brain Drain

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Marian Chiriac

BUCHAREST, Mar 22 2001 (IPS) - Romania is experiencing a severe brain drain as some of its most promising young minds are migrating to the West where Information Technology (IT) specialists are in high demand.

Every year some 50 per cent of the 5,000 computer specialists graduating from Romanian universities go to work in the European Union (EU), the United States and Canada, according to the Federation of Information Technology, Communication and Media Associations.

Romania’s IT graduates use every tactics to travel abroad, even illegally.

A poll released early March by the National Public Opinion Institute (INSOMAR) shows that over 66 per cent of Romanian students are willing to emigrate. More than half of those interviewed say they would prefer to work for foreign private companies, and only 12.4 per cent say they would work for a Romanian private company.

Daniel Dumitran, 17, the Romanian winner of last year’s International Computer Olympics in Beijing, China was awarded a diploma for his performance. He also won a 5000-US-dollar prize, equivalent to 50 times the average monthly wage in his country.

Dressed in a worn-out coat and old shoes, he thanked the assembled officials, but later said he wanted “to study in the United States – and stay”.

The United States, he said, has “better equipment, much better payment, and the right IT legislation”.

Eleven years after the overthrow of the Communist regime, technology stands out in Romania — a country with an unemployment rate of 11 per cent, inflation rate of 40 per cent, and where more than one-third of its 22 million people living below the poverty line.

Despite efforts by Romania to overcome its economic crisis, IT institutions are flourishing in the country. Four state universities and several private institutions train high-level engineers. That’s the reason why the EU countries have so far imported 80,000 Romanian computer specialists, according to official Bucharest statistics.

And the West seems to have a hearty appetite for local young talent.

Special visa is being offered by the German embassy in Bucharest, while Britain, Austria and The Netherlands are considering similar move. Skilled young Romanians also are being targeted by Dubai’s Internet City project.

Romania’s government admits that the loss of its “brightest and best” talent has made the country’s attempts to drag itself out of poverty all the more difficult.

“The brain drain is a reality, and for the foreseeable future there do not seem to be any solutions”, says Dan Nica, Romania’s Communication and IT Minister. “But we must not exaggerate it. Rather we must talk about the free circulation of Romania’s elite, which brings us closer to the West”.

Government leaders also hope that the high-tech boom and globalisation, now sweeping Romania, could slow the brain drain of educated professionals seeking better-paying jobs abroad.

In a land known for its association with fictional vampires, any links with elements of the modern world, such as technology and computers, are welcome.

More and more computer or business software companies, including Hewlett-Packard Corp., General Electric or Solectron, have opened offices in Rumania in the past two years.

Local companies have to fight hard to keep their employees. While the offer of a friendly environment and regular training can be incentives for home-grown talent to stay in the country, little can be done to offset the effects of Romania’s high taxation.

Even the best jobs in the local labour market can’t keep IT- skilled Romanians. Often, most of them stay only long enough to gather experience – around two years.

“We aren’t desperate about finding a job – we can even afford to be choosy”, says a computer programmer, who works in Bucharest for a US company, and earns 1,000 US dollars a month.

“But for my qualification and my abilities I’d be paid more than double in any Western country. Only family ties, fear of the unknown and considerably higher-than average pay in Romania’s IT sector keep me from leaving”, he added.