Written Comprehension 19/03/2020 The Brain Drain: Old myths, new realities The United States is the main pole of attraction for foreign skilled workers; 40% of its foreign-born adult population have tertiary level education. Since the early 1990s, some 900 000 highly skilled professionals, mainly IT workers, from India, China, Russia and a few OECD1 countries (including Canada, the UK and Germany) have migrated to the United States under the H1B2 temporary visa programme. […] International mobility of skilled workers can generate global benefits by improving knowledge flows […]. The contribution of foreign skilled workers to economic growth and achievement in host countries, in particular to research, innovation and entrepreneurship, is increasingly recognised – witness the number of foreign-born US Nobel Prize winners or creators of global high tech companies, such as Intel or eBay, and other successful start-ups. […] The harsh reality is that only a handful of countries have been successful in luring their talented emigrés back home […]; in 2000, it was estimated that some 1,500 highly qualified Indians returned from the United States, although more than 30 times that number depart each year. The risk of a Brain Drain is real. Yet countries can create opportunities for research, innovation and entrepreneurship at home and stimulate a return flow of migrants and capital, as well as win access to international innovation networks. 1. OECD (n.) = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2. H1B visa = a visa granted to foreign skilled workers for specialty occupations. “The Brain Drain: Old myths, new realities”, Read the document and answer the questions (make sentences) 1/ Where do skilled workers come from? 2/ Do all talented immigrants go back home ? 3/ Who does it benefit ? 4/ Identify solutions to stop the brain drain useful voc : Actually / In reality… The solutions given are… writing : Have you ever considered emigrating to the US? Why or why not? Useful vocabulary: If I were... If I had... I would probably... I have already / never considered emigrating to the US because… I feel like immigrating to the US... I seriously consider going to the US because...
