Magyar_Ifjusag_2012_tanulmanykotet

Hungarian Youth 2012V. MobilityTamás Ruff: Youth mobility: willingness, possibilities and plansWith the establishment of a globalised world, the opening of borders and anincrease in the number of possibilities to gain experience both on the labourmarket and elsewhere, the question of migration is becoming ever more relevantboth in Hungary and further afield, Tamás Ruff argues.The analysis addressing youth mobility reflects that slightly over half(52 per cent) of young people in Hungary would leave the country if they hadan opportunity to spend time abroad either to pursue studies or to engage inwork, while over one-third (34 per cent) would choose not to leave Hungary.An analysis of the question along socio-demographic variables provesthat there is a relation between mobility and age, with a smaller proportionof more senior (between 25 and 29 years of age) respondents willingto leave the country than younger interviewees between 15 and 19 yearsof age. Additionally, those with family ties (married people with more thanone child) are less inclined to venture abroad than singles without children.While many people qualified as skilled workers would be willing to a periodexceeding five years in a foreign country, the majority of higher educationgraduates indicated their intentions of returning after a few years.Socially disprivileged groups (those with a low level of education, financialor self-subsistence problems, inhabitants of underdeveloped regions and ruralcommunities) are less able to leave the country or their current place ofresidence due to a lack of knowledge and resources.Hungarian young people are discouraged from leaving the countrymostly by their ties to family and friends, as well as attachment to the homeland.Two-thirds of respondents would opt for migrating abroad due to betterstandards of life, while one-fifth would use their time spent abroad forimproving language knowledge and gaining experience.Studying abroad is less appealing to young people; among those whowould be prepared to emigrate, every second would go to seek employmentand a mere one-tenth would do so for reasons of education. Hungary’s youngpopulation cannot be described as particularly mobile in terms of internal migrationeither, as they would not be keen to relocate to a more distant area andonly every fifth respondent would be prepared to commute on a daily basis.350