FIFA
World Cup and the global job market
Steinar Opheim
Regardless of who the winner will be, the
FIFA World Cup taking place in South Africa is giving us valuable
insights into the global job market.
12 (37.5%) of the 32 teams playing in South
Africa have non-native coaches. Coaches from Argentina are heading
three teams. The number of German coaches is also three. Other
nations who have for-hire coaches in the World Cup are Brazil,
France, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia and Sweden.
There are many things we can learn from this
list regarding the global job market. Here are some points:
1. Sports is a growing sector in the
international job market
For most nations it is important to perform
well at the big sports events. In order to achieve this, the
national teams look for the best coaches available. Many nations
have realized that they need to start growing their athletes early
if they want to succeed. So there is a desire to hire good, foreign
coaches also further down in the sports hierarchy in each nation.
Other growing sports sectors are the fitness clubs and personal
coaching for anyone who would like to get in better shape.
2. Foreign employers look for experts
Except for Serbia and Sweden all the nations
listed above are famous for their good soccer teams. Employers
hiring people from the global job market are looking for experts.
The better you are in your profession, the easier it is to get a
job. Since it is usually expensive to hire foreign experts, the
employers would like you to pass on your knowledge to the local
staff.
As soon as possible they will try to manage without your expertise.
3. If you do not produce the desired
results, your contract will end
The non-successful soccer trainers will not
have their contracts renewed. The same applies to experts in other
professions who do not produce the desired results. If you want to
stay long term in another country youŽll have to work hard and you
need to make sure that you stay on top of your profession.
The list of World Cup coaches also gives us
some other interesting facts. Seven of them are in their forties, 14
are in their fifties, 10 are in their sixties and one is more than
70 years old. Notice that none are in their twenties or thirties.
The Western job market often fails to value gray hair and
experience. Many non-western job markets do.
Conclusions
1. There is a constant demand for experts in
the global job market. We should all aim at being as good as
possible in our professions. This is makes us more attractive in the
marketplace.
It is also a Biblical principle to make good use of the talents God
has given us.
2. We should always try to give our employer
the maximum return for the investment he has made by employing us.
Equally those registering and starting businesses in other countries
should do their best to make their businesses a blessing to the
nation they are living in.
3. There is a great need for more
gray-haired Christian professionals who are willing to bring their
professions and experience with them to other countries.
Tentmaking
and national laws
"Should Christians Convert Muslims?" was the
headline of a Time Magazine cover story a few years ago. In some
sense the article implied that Christians going to Muslim countries
are doing something wrong because their activities are causing
tensions. But is that true?
Among the politically correct only the
religion of tolerance is accepted. Christians settling in other
countries in order to lead people to Jesus are under attack. Even
among Christians, tentmakers working in sensitive areas may be met
with criticism. The conception is that a tentmaker often comes with
a hidden agenda and that he
or she are entering the nations through the backdoor.
In this picture it is important to sort out
what is right and what is wrong. First of all we should underline
that Global Opportunities and Tent are training people to respect
the laws of the countries they are going to. When it comes to
sharing faith, the laws in most nations are not causing too much
trouble. With maybe one or two exceptions, no countries in the world
have laws against people talking about their faith in a private
setting. In most non-Western cultures religion is an integral part
of daily life. So it is common to talk about faith and share
thoughts about the big questions of life in day-to day talks. In
fact, it is socially expected to talk about your faith when asked.
It is inappropriate not to. Getting people to ask questions is key
to sharing Christ. This creates many opportunities for sharing about
Jesus also in nations that
are regarded as "closed" for the Gospel.
A Christian who had lived in Pakistan for
several years, testified that he did not have the gift of
evangelism. "But in Pakistan I didn't need that gift. There people
talk about faith all the time," he concluded.
Many nations have laws that makes it illegal
for the citizens to change their religion. So the people the
tentmakers are living among, break the law if they accept Jesus as
their saviour. Many of those who receive the gift of salvation and
eternal life through Jesus, realize that
the suffering they may have to face here on earth is nothing
compared to the glory they will receive (Rom 8:18). The tentmaker
may of course be considered as a partner in crime to those who break
the law by changing their faith. But in this case the authorities
who prohibit their citizens from having the freedom of belief are
the ones to blame. It should also be mentioned that many of the
countries prohibiting religious conversions have signed the
declaration on human rights giving everyone the right to "change his
religion or belief."
(UN Declaration on Human Rights, Article 18).
No missionary, nor any tentmaker, will force
anyone to follow their faith. What these ambassadors of God's
kingdom are doing, is to point towards a man who said he had come to
restore our relationship with God. In nations where exchange of
ideas and beliefs is prohibited, even the politically correct should
aim their criticism at the authorities who are denying their people
basic human rights. Those who share their faith with others should
not be the target.
Note: Dave English, Executive Director of
Global Opportunities was interviewed for the
above mentioned TIME article.
FREE
OFFER: eBook
Working Abroad - Todays Tentmaking Challenge
Revised version
Philip Nunn
FURTHER READING:
Breaking into the Global Job Market
Workplace
Evangelism: Witness that Works at Work
Must
Christians Always Tell the Truth?
UPCOMING EVENTS:
FREE
Tentmaking Business as Mission evening
seminar
Pasadena California
Friday Sep 17, 2010
FREE Tentmaking
Business as Mission Sessions
Spokane WA
Sep 24 & 25, 2010
Mission Connexion Inland Northwest
GO Equipped Tentmaking
Course
Los Angeles California
Oct 20-24, 2010
GO Equipped Tentmaking Course
Korntal Germany
22-25 November, 2010
Course outline
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Books for
Further Reading:
Great Commission Companies - Steve Rundle
and Tom Steffen
Business as Mission - Neal Johnson
Note: Steve Rundle & Neal Johnson are
former GO board members
