Opting for Migration: Is it Just an Economic Necessity?–A Comparison between German and Polish Highly Skilled Graduates

Abstract

This paper deals with the migration motives of German and Polish final semester students and university graduates in the partner cities of Bielefeld (GER) and Rzeszów (PL), who are on the threshold of their professional careers. The survey presented here was motivated by the question: are the current migration motives of highly-skilled graduates still economically driven or have migration motives changed due to the increasing education level of migrants and new migration patterns, and will be described in this article. The survey provides insights into emigration destinations favoured by graduates from the two cities. In addition, the importance of informal networks for a migration-related job search was analysed. The survey’s accomplished results contribute, at a micro-level, to the broad literature and to migration theories at macro and meso-level. In times of high (youth) unemployment in several European regions as well as skills shortages and demand for highly-skilled workers in other European regions, new approaches on migration motives are required. The content of this study can help destination countries and regions reflect on their attraction strategy for highly-skilled workers and set new incentives based on an individual view.