[Shifting Perceptions] #1 Kazakhstan: ‘Preferable to Stacking Supermarket Shelves’

The global financial crisis is giving countries a new profile as the western media alight on under-reported regions. This occasional series profiles how stereotypes are being challenged or countries are being further exoticised.

Accompanied by the inevitable grinning photo of Borat, this week’s edition of Building Design magazine describes how out-of-work British architects are relocating to Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan beckons for jobless architects).

Recruitment consultants say that, with the dearth of UK jobs, the appeal of “unusual locations” is growing. Architects are being forced to go back to the drawing board to plan their careers, and Kazakhstan has suddenly been inked into the picture.

But much more work remains to be done to improve Kazakhstan’s image – it is damned with faint praise. According to one consultant: “Give an out-of-work architect the choice between working for two years in Kazakhstan or working in Tesco stacking shelves for two years, and they are choosing to travel and work in not the most savoury places.”

Possibly related posts:

1. Netherlands Leads FDI in Kazakhstan in 2008
2. What Crisis? Finding Solace in the Supermarket
3. Confidence in Kazakhstan Dented…But Only Cosmetically
4. Treading Softly: Kazakhstan Weighs Up the Customs Union
5. To Silence or Not to Silence: Blogging in Kazakhstan