Targeting Oz
Employment news the world over have been hit with the skills shortage affecting Australian companies.
There are many countries actively targeting Australian teachers, accountants, bankers, lawyers, engineers and others in candidate-short fields.
The United Kingdom has a government department specialising in attracting teachers to its public schools. Middle Eastern states, such as those in the United Arab Emirates, have launched massive campaigns to try to entice new workers to build ultra-modern cities such as Dubai.
Shailer Park property manager Rick Nugent was so impressed with what Qatar's United Development Company had to offer that he is to fly out today to start his next "exciting proposition".
He is to help oversee the construction of Qatar's first international real estate venture - a 400ha man-made island called The Pearl-Qatar. His wife and daughter are to follow him in a few months.
"My wife and I were ready for a change, new challenges, new sights and sounds," he says.
"It is a very exciting proposition for us so we thought we would try it for a few years and, of course, the financial incentives are significant."
He says he hopes he can make a success of his job and that he will enjoy it and that his family will settle in.
"I hope that all of us can better understand how other people live and to learn more about both their ancient cultural history and their dramatic transformation into the 21st century."
He says he has not made this decision lightly.
"I worry about how we will cope with the separation and distances from our (extended) family in Australia," he says.
"The political and social environment in the region can be unstable.
"During a recent trip there (Qatar) for the interview, I was amazed at the lack of visible police and army - not one gun was to be seen."
He says that, before considering taking the job, he researched the country and the company, doing searches on the internet and talking to other people working there.
He says scoring such a senior job was the result of his 16-year track record holding similar roles around Queensland. He most recently worked for Honeycombes Property Group.
"We will stay for about five years - maybe longer. We will see how it goes," he says.