India, China next destination for talent from the West

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The booming markets of India and China, where a new war for professional talent is hotting up, will see incredible opportunities for Western professionals, a noted marketing expert has said.

"The new war for professional talent is hotting up like never before and will see huge and developing opportunities for westerners looking for jobs in India and China," Nirmalya Kumar, Professor of Marketing at London Business School said.

Speaking to industry leaders, students and alumni at a session at the Dubai Centre celebrating London Business School's five years of commitment to education in the region, Professor Kumar highlighted the shift from Indians and Chinese looking to the west for jobs and the reverse happening at a rapid rate.

"When you go to the emerging markets it's about growth, it's about ambition and setting up businesses and factories," Kumar, who recently launched his book India Inside and is the co-director of the School's Aditya Birla India Centre, said.

Multinational companies are ramping up in new markets on a scale that is incredible and presents opportunities for Westerners looking for jobs in India and China.

"We have to move our people from the west to the east and we have to make it easier. We have to pressure China and India to be as open to western people as westerners have been to Indian and Chinese immigrants," he said.

Kumar believes this change will set corporate agendas over the next decade. According to him, the Indian government needs to be encouraged to make it easier for Europeans and Americans to get visas to work in India.

Delivering his presentation on 'The Emergence of Growth Economies and Corporate Giants' here, Nirmalya Kumar, professor of Marketing at London Business School also touched on India's ability to transition from services whilst changing perceptions that the country is not innovative enough.

"Bright ideas are bizarrely regarded as a Western preserve. Indians make good accountants and programmers, but are not the best for innovation. After all, where are the Indian Googles and iPods?," Kumar asked the audience.

"Take for example, Intel -- a company that prides itself on 'Inspired Innovation that's Changing the World'. While Intel ensures consumers know they're using a personal computer powered by Intel innovation, there isn't any label on the product showing that the innovation originated in India," he said.