Over 600 Moroccan Engineers Move Overseas Every Year

Rabat – Much like other developing countries, despite having significant human capital, Morocco’s talent retention remains largely suboptimal.

According to a recent statement from the director of a Moroccan Development Institute, Hamida Benlemlih, more than 600 Moroccan engineers move abroad in search of better working conditions, and more financially-rewarding positions.

In an op-ed published in a French-speaking Moroccan outlet, Benlemlih sounds the alarm over the situation of human capital flight, pointing out that while Morocco is making considerable efforts to build a qualified human capital base, Moroccan white-collar workers are increasingly being attracted to more-rewarding opportunities abroad, mainly in Europe, United States, and even Asia.

Engineering issues

The expert further explains that the trend of human capital flight is especially pronounced in the case of Moroccan engineers such as data engineers, web engineers, system architects, and consulting engineers, as international head-hunters “intercept” them as soon as they graduate.

The grand exodus of Moroccan talent is damaging the country in many respects. Aside from depriving Moroccan-based companies of skilled labor, human capital flight equally weighs down on the country’s state budget as Morocco spends about MAD 2.5 million annually to train engineering within its free higher education system, the expert explains.

Morocco’s human capital flight in numbers

Morocco ranks 23rd globally in the list of countries with high levels of human capital flight, according to some estimates.

In an index measuring the economic and developmental impact of human capital flight, Morocco scored a staggering 7.4 out of 10, way above the world average of 5.2, data indicate.

Research into the historical impact of human capital flight reckons that, between 1970 and 2010, human capital flight cost the Moroccan economy a compound $87.7 billion. The figure represents the potential added value to the economy lost after highly-skilled workers moved overseas.