A survey conducted by Morgan Philips Executive Search Luxembourg last month has revealed that Belgium and France have remained the top sources of foreign talent in the Grand Duchy.
The exclusive survey interviewed several hundred decision-makers in the country on the attractiveness of Luxembourg to attract talent. In the last 12 months, nearly 9 out of 10 companies surveyed recruited at least one employee who previously worked in a foreign country or who had recently graduated from a foreign higher education.
The financial professions are the most concerned by this import of skills from abroad, whilst Sales & Marketing profiles are also highly sought after beyond the Luxembourg borders due to a lack of locally available skills and the scarcity of profiles mastering digital marketing. Specialist profiles of IT and data are also gaining in popularity and the need for this type of skills will intensify in the coming months in a very competitive international market.
France and Belgium remained the two favorite hunting grounds to find talent, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom. The latter is consistent with a phenomenon seen for several months now, with Luxembourg companies hoping to take advantage of the Brexit perspective that motivates a growing number of foreign talent - especially working in London - to relocate to mainland Europe.
However, 42% of the companies surveyed admitted to having difficulties attracting talent to Luxembourg. The country still suffers from a lack of awareness among the profiles wishing to pursue an international career. This lack of awareness of the country and its strengths was perceived by 62% of employers in the country as the main reason for their difficulty in attracting talent from abroad.
Meanwhile, 51% of employers believed that the cost of living (and more specifically housing) was one of the main obstacles to the country's development even though high salary levels were cited as the country's top assets (along with quality of life).
