Many skilled workers from the UK are looking to further their careers overseas, new research has found.

According to NatWest, 42 per cent of those who left to find work abroad during 2006 were either professionals or managers.

Commenting on this finding, the firm said a typical expatriate is no longer an older person who wants to spend their retirement in the sun.

Instead, it believes the average Briton abroad is a 43-year-old professional on a salary of approximately £67,000 a year.

Dave Isley, head of NatWest International Personal Banking, said the number of skilled workers looking for jobs overseas will continue to rise.

He remarked: "This trend will increase as countries continue to seek out the talents of British workers and entice them to foreign climes with career opportunities and the chance to experience life abroad."

This comes after an earlier NatWest study revealed that the average person in the UK earns £47,000 a year.

However, a typical salary in the United Arab Emirates can be as high as £79,000, a figure the firm described as "whopping".