You could always jump on a plane and head off for the gold-paved streets of the USA or Europe as so many have already done -- but there is another option that seems to have been almost completely overlooked.

I refer of course to that now dated but never more practical concept we call teleworking or telecommuting.

Imagine it -- so many of the benefits of working in a country where the dollar is strong and the pay-rates are high -- but without the need to leave the comfort and beauty of Godzone or mess around with visas and mountains of paperwork.

Readers Say (updated hourly) Regarding - Renting Out Our Brains - Sean Great Idea. I know - Drew Teleworking for overseas companies - Steve This would have to be one of the... - Jamie I think that your idea... - Neil teleworking... - Dave Have Your Say

Sounds too good to be true doesn't it?

Well teleworking has been vastly overhyped during the past decade or so and the much touted benefits of reducing congestion on our roads, boosting productivity and improving the lot of workers has not really happened for the vast majority of people involved in hi-tech industry.

But that's not the way it needs to be.

If we believe the reports, there's a massive demand for good computer programmers, web designers, strategists, analysts, digital graphic artists, writers, etc., and New Zealand produces some of the best knowledge-workers in the world.

It strikes me that we're sitting on a gold-mine here. A powerful army of potential teleworkers who can deliver their virtual-selves onto the doorstep of US and European companies at the flick of a switch each and every day of the week.

Think about the benefits for the country -- massive overseas earnings, increased awareness of NZ as the home of a highly skilled workforce, the ability for locals to extend their range of skills and experience and boosted levels of overseas investor confidence in local new-economy ventures.

So why isn't this already happening -- why are our young smart people still jumping on planes instead of firing up their modems?

Well I can't claim to have all the answers but I suspect it's probably due to a simple lack of organisation.

We have plenty of traditional personnel recruitment companies who deal in "moving meat" from NZ to employment opportunities overseas -- but there's a dearth of companies who specialise in brokering teleworking employment contracts.

So here's the Aardvark challenge -- let's see a few brave souls set up Kiwi teleworking agencies in Europe and the USA specifically to promote the employment of Kiwi teleworkers in those markets.

Despite the power of the Net -- an effective marketing of local skills into foreign markets by way of teleworking will require "feet on the street" -- it can't be done anywhere near as successfully over the phone or by email.

If the government is looking for a way to stem the brain-drain, perhaps they ought to consider equipping key NZ Embassies with a teleworking liaison officer who can provide the valuable first-introductions -- or work in concert with the local recruitment industry to promote this option.

Let's start renting our best brains to the rest of the world instead of exporting them!

What do you think -- am I way off beam here? Give me your thoughts.

As always, your feedback is welcomed.