The Guardian

'Chip off the old Bloc'
July 21 2007

As the European Union expands eastwards, smart British graduates are exploring, and succeeding in, entirely new job markets. Nic Paton reports

We have heard about the influx of Poles, Czechs and Hungarians to these shores since the opening up of the European Union in 2004- But for adventurous British graduates, the expansion of the EU into eastern Europe, with Romania and Bulgaria having joined this year, has also created opportunities in the other direction. While the numbers going east are nowhere near as great as those coming west, there is demand for skilled UK graduates in a whole host of areas, according to recruiters. Just don't expect to walk straight into a high-flying job, as the increasing quality and sophistication of eastern European graduates is making the market more competitive. Former Durham University geography graduate Richard Walker runs the Warsaw arm of Ethel Austin Property Group, a joint venture he set up in 2OO6 after working for a number of years with property firm Jones Lang LaSalle, first in London and then in Poland.

"I had always been intrigued by central and eastern Europe," says Walker, 26. "From a property point of view, there seemed to be a lot more opportunities. There is a much less rigid career structure here. I have friends who are now directors of big companies here while still only in their 20s." Aside from property, there are opportunities for graduates with experience in law, accountancy, economics and finance, agrees Ben Bannatyne, central Europe managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle in Warsaw. "It is a very lively place," Bannatyne says. "It may not be the most attractive city but there are lakes to the north and mountains to the south. And, if I want to, I can get back home to Glasgow in two hours." There is also demand for technology, engineering, manufacturing and construction specialists, and an MBA qualification can take you far.

With so many people wanting to come west, teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) is booming, says Jenny Johnson, head of TEFL at Brighton-based language schools organisation Cactus Worldwide. "Eastern Europe has been bubbling under for some time now, but it is now showing signs of exploding in terms of teacher training," she says.

Gareth Williams, 26, a Nottingham University psychology graduate, has been teaching English as a foreign language in Budapest, Hungary for the past 10 months with the International House network of language schools. "I graduated in 2003, had been working in the NHS but got frustrated. I spent a summer holiday in Serbia and really liked the area, so 1 started to look around. I just jumped in a car and drove here. It took me something like 18 hours - but I have a housemate who cycled from Bristol." he says.

Gareth paid around £800 to do a month's TEFL course at the school, for his Celta (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) qualification. "After that it was just a case really of strolling round the city dropping off CVs. There is a high demand for native English speakers. To get into university you are expected to be able to show proficiency in' English and also, of course, it is the '" language of business. I have had more offers than 1 can accept."

His pay is half what it was in the UK, but he has no regrets. "The cost of living is much cheaper. 1 pay the equivalent of about £90 a month to rent probably one of the nicest places 1 have ever lived in. There is a lot of culture. I play music and have made a lot of friends."

There are quirks of life, too. "1 like the fact that when you go down to the metro, on the platform there is a clock that, if you miss a train, tells you how much you missed it by, rather than when the next train is due," he says. "However long I stay here, it has been a good experience. I've broadened my horizons and it will look good on my CV."

Yet graduates should not assume that, just because they come from a western country, they will be able to snap up any old job. "Six or seven years ago, when Poland was an emerging economy, there were many more expat graduates than there ate now. There is less of a need for them because there are so many more skilled local people," says Walker.

"There is not a huge demand for graduate-entry roles," says Blake Wittman, Czech Republic and Slovakia manager at recruitment firm SpenglerFox. "There may be mid die-management roles, but remember you will be working with perhaps 10 to 30 Czechs, Slovaks or Poles who may not speak .perfect English," he adds.

One of the best ways in is through a multinational firm, as many big FTSE companies now have a presence in the region. But even this is not a cast-iron certainty. "If a graduate joins, say, HSBC and wants to go to Poland, why are they going to agree to it? They are much more likely to hire a Pole for half the money," says Wittman. On the subject of money, the general rule is that your pay will be lower, but so will your living costs. "The average Czech salary is around 20,000 korunas (£500) a month, so if you are making CZK100-150,000, you will have a very good standard of living," says Wittman.

Expat organisations will often be able to help with practical questions, legal advice, information and introductions, says Anna Poludniewska of Expats in Poland (www.expats-in-poland.com). The British Embassy or, if you're still in the UK the embassy for the country you plan to work in, are must-visits - some run language courses. Transnational industry bodies, such as, in Poland, the British Polish Chamber of Commerce, can be a mine of information and the British Council (www.britishcouncil. org) is a useful source. Careers advisory service Prospects has a lot of country-specific information (www.prospects.ac.uk), while, for TEFL, www.cactustefl.com is a good place to start.

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