11/06/2007

Special report: Finance for Poles in Britain

More than 10,000 Poles are leaving each month to seek a new life in the UK. Most are well educated and determined to save hard even though they might initially have to do menial work to get a foot on the jobs ladder.

In this special report, Financial Mail looks at how Britain's banks and financial services companies are trying to cater for the influx of Polish migrants. We ask Poles both in the UK and Warsaw what they are looking for in terms of jobs, financial advice and savings options and how well their needs are being met.

Jakub Kubasek
Challenge: Law student Jakub Kubasek, far left, with friends in Warsaw

Waiters in restaurants, hotel workers, bank clerks and university students. Almost everyone you talk to in Warsaw, Poland's vibrant capital, knows someone who is now working in the UK. Many have their own ambitions to head to Britain to earn money.

According to latest Government figures, almost half am Poles have registered to work in the UK since Poland joined the European Union in May 2004. A further 200,000 are working in on a self-employed basis. Other commentators have put the total figure at 800,000.

Currently, more than 10,000 Polish nationals are leaving Poland each month for the UK. To put this into context, Poland has a population of 40m. The number of Polish nationals living in the UK is expected to top the 1m mark by 2012.


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Law student Jakub Kubasek, 21, has one eye on working in the UK in the future. Although Jakub, from Warsaw, has three more years left of his degree course at the prestigious University of Warsaw, he says he is keen to work in the Britain.

On a lunch break with fellow law students Karolina Kulikowska, Janek Markiewicz, Joanna Korzeniewska and Marcin Musiclowski, Jakub says he wants to come to the UK to improve his English. But he fears finding work as a lawyer, if he qualifies, could be tough.

'Most young people I know who have gone to the UK have ended up doing menial jobs in hotels and cafes,' says Jakub, who speaks near-perfect English. 'In many cases the money is good but if these people have secondary education or a degree, ultimately they want to pursue a career. I would love to work in the UK but only if I could get a job in law.'

Jakub's reservations are borne out by the official statistics. Research conducted by PKO Bank Polski, Poland's largest retail bank, shows that 63% of Polish immigrants to the UK are aged between 24 and 35 with 40% possessing a university degree. Yet just 30% of Polish migrants are currently working in 'white collar' office jobs in the UK - although slowly but surely more Poles are occupying key positions (see page 4).

Bartek Vytlacil is managing director in charge of international banking at PKO Bank Polski in Warsaw. He says: 'Unemployment is high in Poland and most young people learn English in schools, so the UK is an obvious choice to go for work and to save money. Most Poles are prepared to work in jobs that are below their expectations if the wages are good. Most still find they are able to save.'

Both UK and Polish financial institutions are keen to capitalise on this burgeoning Polish migrant market. PKO Bank Polski has teamed up with NatWest Bank to offer a joined up banking service in the UK and Poland while HSBC is also looking to grab a share of the migrant market before Poles come over to the UK.

Iga Stach, 19, from Krakow, is a recent arrival who banks with NatWest. The babysitter, left, says: 'The service is more efficient than I was used to in Poland.'

Polish nationals can apply for HSBC's Passport Account online before they leave Poland, so their account, with its easy money transfer service, can be up and running before they even start work in the UK.

David Putts is head of personal financial services for central Europe at HSBC. He believes that the property boom in Poland is one of the reasons why Poles are seeking work and higher earnings overseas. According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors house prices in Poland rose by 33% last year and by 28% in 2005.

'Young Poles are keen to purchase property,' says Putts. 'The result is that many Poles go to the UK for a few years to save and raise a deposit for a home back in Poland.'

At the British Council in Warsaw, director Tony O'Brien and his colleagues, who offer English classes and pre-departure events for Poles planning to come to the UK, says there has been a dramatic increase in interest in the UK. O'Brien says: 'People are looking for independent information about the best places to find work, where to open a bank account and how to send money back to Poland. We point them in the right direction.'

Ola Walentynowicz is co-ordinator for the British Alumni Society. The BAS is a networking association with 600 members which brings together Poles and British nationals living in Poland who have studied at UK universities. She says websites such as onet.eu, which provides advice for Poles, and as szkocja.net, a news and networking site for Poles living in Scotland, are a good way for many Polish nationals to get generic information about living, working and financial matters in the UK.

Source: By thisismoney.co.uk






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