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Since 2015, political and economic turmoil in the South American country of Venezuela has caused over 3 million of its citizens to flee the country in search of a more stable life elsewhere. Deemed to be a humanitarian and economic crisis, Venezuela is also experiencing a massive “brain drain”, in which professionally-trained individuals are fleeing the country to continue the pursuit of their education or advance their career objectives in foreign countries.
Among the millions of Venezuelan migrants, many of them have advanced academic training. As a result, the country is experiencing a rapid decrease in its human capital as there is a lower amount of qualified individuals working in professional industries in which a higher level of education is required. Many of those fleeing the country are migrating to neighbouring South American countries, as well as Mexico and the United States. However, even in these countries, trained professionals often find themselves working jobs that are below their knowledge and skill level. In fact, approximately 56% of migrants are working in a field that is completely unrelated to their original profession.[1]
In particular, the engineering, health and education industries are notably suffering, due to the lack of researchers and scientists choosing to practice in Venezuela. Furthermore, increasing amounts of students pursuing high-level academic training are opting to not complete their professional training, which, in turn, is stunting research and knowledge production. In the past year, over 20 000 employees have left the electricity industry. Among the 23 Venezuelan states, 20 of them are experiencing rationing of electricity, in which electric power is revoked for a few hours a day, leaving citizens without consistent mobile, internet and hydro services.
The loss of skilled personnel in these industries leads to the workplace being understaffed, and raises security and safety concerns. In conjunction with the economic crisis, the refugee crisis is also hindering the accessibility of food, medical supplies, petroleum and electricity.
Currently, the Venezuelan Refugee Crisis is the largest refugee crisis in Latin American history, and is the second largest refugee crisis in the world, after Syria, according to Foreign Affair Magazine. The United Nations predicts that the number of fleeing migrants will rise to 5.4 million by the end of the year[2].
[1] https://latinamericanpost.com/26633-venezuela-and-the-brain-drain-the-other-perspective-of-the-crisis
[2]https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/venezuela/2019-07-26/venezuelan-refugee-crisis-not-just-regional-problem