Career patterns of young highly skilled migrants from Southeast Europe in Austria

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Winterheller ◽  
Christian Hirt

Purpose Using a Bourdieuian perspective, the purpose of this paper is to analyse how highly skilled migrants (HSMs) from transition economies develop their careers by accumulating and using career capital upon migration. Design/methodology/approach An interpretative approach was chosen to depict the career patterns of 18 HSMs from Southeast Europe. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data about their career experiences in Western Europe and their home countries. Findings Findings reveal four different career patterns that show how individuals develop their careers and adjust to the work environment by accumulating and using career capital. Building up country-specific work-related social contacts and gaining work experience in local companies were found to represent key elements in their adjustment process. Additionally, the findings show that organisational support facilitates the processes of individual adjustment. Originality/value This paper emphasises that individuals do not always have to assimilate to the work environment of the host country but can also bargain over the value of their career capital in their adjustment process. Contrasting with previous literature this perspective presents a novelty.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana van Dijk

PurposeRefugees face multiple barriers to employment, such as previous work experience and qualifications not recognized. The Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences offers a higher vocational education and training (VET) dual program for highly-skilled refugees, in which education and work is combined. After completion of the two-year program, participants have gained new skills, learned (vocational) language, have work experience in the Netherlands and have a Dutch diploma. These are the factors that are decisive for successful employment integration.Design/methodology/approachThis explorative study aimed to get insights into the participants' views and experiences with the dual program. A qualitative design has, therefore, been chosen. This article is based on 20 in-depth interviews with refugee-students. The transcribed qualitative data were systematically analyzed using ATLAS.ti 8 qualitative data analysis software.FindingsOverall, students were positive about the opportunity to study further and to work simultaneously. They valued the close connection with employers, learned new skills, improved their (vocational) language, and it gave them professional prospects that fit their ambitions. Based on the experiences of students, it seems that the dual program enhances work-related capabilities. However, the University should make more use of existing professional knowledge and experiences. Recognition of prior learning is crucial for employment integration but also contributes to a sense of inclusion.Originality/valueHigher VET dual programs for highly-skilled refugees are innovative and can contribute to their integration into the labor market. The associate degree is a recognized diploma between higher education and secondary vocational education.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 437-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Rajendran ◽  
Karen Farquharson ◽  
Chandana Hewege

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how highly skilled migrants to Australia integrate into the workplace, focussing on the factors that foster or hinder that integration. Design/methodology/approach An inductive method using an interpretive methodological approach was employed. In-depth interview data were analysed thematically. Findings Informal workplace practices, such as informal peer mentoring and having an “empathetic” supervisor, also assisted with integration, as did migrant self-help strategies. Factors hindering integration included structural barriers outside the organisation and workplace factors such as racism, cultural barriers and individual factors that centred on the migrants themselves. Research limitations/implications While the exploratory qualitative enquiry sheds light on issues of concern regarding workplace integration of skilled migrants, further studies with diverse migrant groups would be required to understand if the findings could be replicated. An industry or sector-wise migrant study would shed more light on the issues. Practical implications Fostering and hindering factors identified through the lens of four workplace integration theories can inform workplace integration strategies and related policy formulation. Originality/value Informed by four theories of integration, the findings shed light on the everyday workplace experiences of linguistically competent, self-initiated, highly skilled migrants from diverse ethnic/cultural backgrounds in Australian workplaces in a range of industries. While previous research has identified problems experienced by migrants at work, this paper explores factors fostering and hindering workplace integration through the lens of the lived experiences of skilled migrant workers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (42) ◽  
pp. 102-121
Author(s):  
Snježana Gregurović

Migrations undertaken by highly skilled persons assume an important position in knowledge societies, especially in large global cities where there is a need for their work. This article is based on qualitative research conducted in Brussels in 2014, working with a sample (N=20) of highly skilled migrants from Southeast Europe. Through applying Bosswick and Heckmann's (2006) analytical framework, this research examines the influence of European Union citizenship on the system and social dimension to the integration of the researched group. Under system integration, the gaining and enacting of citizenship rights receives special attention, while with social integration, the identificational dimension to integration is in focus. The research results demonstrated that the possession of EU citizenship influences the integration outcome – to a greater extent in the case of system integration, and to a lesser extent with social integration. Given that the integration of highly skilled migrants in Brussels occurs within "international strata", rather than a national culture framework, the classic integration model does not function in Brussels. In the case of the integration of highly skilled migrants in a global city such as Brussels, it was shown that migrants do not attach an importance to (national) citizenship as long as they have EU citizenship. Highly skilled migrants from third countries do attach an importance to national citizenship so long as they do not have a work permit with which they are regulating their stay and provided that they plan to settle for a long time in Belgium.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yemisi F. Awotoye ◽  
Christopher C. Stevens

Theoretical basis The case primarily revolves around the establishment, alignment and maintenance of expectations within a work environment. Specifically, the case focuses on the challenges that were created by the expectations that Kofi Nyarkoh had of his employee, Kwame Owusu, and the expectations that Kwame in turn formed based on the process surrounding his employment relationship with Kofi. The case is intended to help students assess a business situation and define the perceptions and expectations of stakeholders; assess the impact of differences in perceptions and expectations on the attitudes, behaviors and motivation in the workplace and develop appropriate recommendations. Research methodology The case was written based on a combination of field and telephone interviews and other communication between one of the authors and Kofi. Case overview/synopsis The case presents the story of Rococo LLC's founder and one of his key employees. Both men were originally from Ghana. They met in the USA through a mutual friend, and Kofi hired him to work on a client site for Rococo LLC despite Kwame's insufficient work experience. Complexity academic level This case is intended for students of organizational behavior, human resource management and management both at advanced undergraduate and graduate levels.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 801-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Discua Cruz ◽  
Ingrid Fromm

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the emergence of a social enterprise by highly skilled members of a diaspora. While most literature has focused on government intervention for diaspora engagement and monetary remittance flows from migrants, less attention has been paid to the transfer of social remittances and social enterprises created by diasporas. Based on the concept of social remittances, social network theory and motivation perspectives, this study unpacks the emergence of a social enterprise by highly skilled migrants of a developing country.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines social enterprise emergence through an autoethnographic approach to describe and systematically analyze personal experience. This approach allows to understand cultural experience around the emergence of a social enterprise created by diverse members of a diaspora.FindingsFindings reveal that diaspora knowledge networks (DKNs) can emerge through the activation of a highly skilled diaspora network structure. Core diaspora members can activate a latent network of highly skilled migrants that wish to fulfill intrinsic motivations. Findings support the extend current understandings of social remittances by highly skilled migrants, who emerge as a transnational community that desires to stay connected to their country-of-origin and can support the emergence of a transnational network structure for development. The findings reveal that place attachment, sense of duty and well-being are key factors for highly skilled migrants to engage in DKNs.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to literature on networks and migrant-based organizational emergence by examining how and why highly skilled migrants from a developing country engage in the emergence of a DKN. Findings challenge previous views of government intervention and provides evidence on how the transmission of collective social remittances can flow trans-nationally, making highly skilled migrants effective agents of knowledge circulation and DKNs a vehicle for transmission. More specifically, the study provides evidence of the relevance of transnational features in the context of diaspora networks that lead to organizational emergence. It underscores the influence of interrelated motivations in diaspora engagement studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Katherine Kirk ◽  
Ellen Bal

AbstractThis paper explores the relationship between migration and integration policies in the Netherlands, diaspora policies in India, and the transnational practices of Indian highly skilled migrants to the Netherlands. We employ anthropological transnational migration theories (e.g., Ong 1999; Levitt and Jaworsky 2007) to frame the dynamic interaction between a sending and a receiving country on the lives of migrants. This paper makes a unique contribution to migration literature by exploring the policies of both sending and receiving country in relation to ethnographic data on migrants. The international battle for brains has motivated states like the Netherlands and India to design flexible migration and citizenship policies for socially and economically desirable migrants. Flexible citizenship policies in the Netherlands are primarily concerned with individual and corporate rights and privileges, whereas Indian diaspora policies have been established around the premise of national identity.


Author(s):  
M. Rahul ◽  
R. Ganesan

Leaders in the global arena are the one who face the challenges never seen before, while coordinating work and managing relationship between team members coming from varied ethnic groups. Globalization has undoubtedly opened up endless growth opportunities for both, businesses and individuals, by collaborating with each other, but with certain inherent challenges. These challenges are the difference in the cultural background of the team members, which gets predominantly reflected in their behavior at workplace too. The cultural differences exist primarily due to differences in shared values, which form the basis for difference in perception and practices of decision making by an individual (Hofstede, 1980). Juana Bordas has rightly described that any business that fails to adapt their leadership style aligning with multi-cultural approach will find it difficult to thrive in a more colorful world. Leadership style has witnessed various facets of changing work environment that has demanded from leaders to modify their approach to adapt along and be effective and survive in the ever-changing environment of business (Bordas,2007).A cross-culture leader plays a significant role in knitting the diverse workforce into an efficient team; which requires a leader to very well understand the various dimensions of culture. This understanding of the leader enables him to learn about blending of leadership styles to address the challenges of such work environment. This paper is an extended work on 'Leadership in Cross-Cultural Environment – A Comparison of Asian and Non-Asian Managers' (Rahul and Ganesan, 2015). The extended research study has identified that enhanced work experience of cross-culture leaders enables them in effective team management, than the rise in designation, as it results in creation of hierarchical distance between the leaders and subordinates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3428
Author(s):  
Nahikari Irastorza ◽  
Pieter Bevelander

In a globalised world with an increasing division of labour, the competition for highly skilled individuals—regardless of their origin—is growing, as is the value of such individuals for national economies. Yet the majority of studies analysing the economic integration of immigrants shows that those who are highly skilled also have substantial hurdles to overcome: their employment rates and salaries are lower and they face a higher education-to-occupation mismatch compared to highly skilled natives. This paper contributes to the paucity of studies on the employment patterns of highly skilled immigrants to Sweden by providing an overview of the socio-demographic characteristics, labour-market participation and occupational mobility of highly educated migrants in Sweden. Based on a statistical analysis of register data, we compare their employment rates, salaries and occupational skill level and mobility to those of immigrants with lower education and with natives. The descriptive analysis of the data shows that, while highly skilled immigrants perform better than those with a lower educational level, they never catch up with their native counterparts. Our regression analyses confirm these patterns for highly skilled migrants. Furthermore, we find that reasons for migration matter for highly skilled migrants’ employment outcomes, with labour migrants having better employment rates, income and qualification-matched employment than family reunion migrants and refugees.


2021 ◽  
pp. 101269022110094
Author(s):  
Geoffery Zain Kohe ◽  
Daniel Nehring ◽  
Mengwei Tu

This study examines associations between sport/physical activity space, community formation and social life among Shanghai’s highly skilled migrant demographic. There is limited illustration of the roles sport and physical exercise provision and spaces play in this migrant cohort’s lives, community formation and participation in their host societies. Yet, such evidence is of value in determining social policy, urban development and community engagement initiatives. Using a mixed-methods approach involving public policy critique, cultural and spatial analysis and virtual community investigation, this article provides a conceptual exploration of ways sport and physical activity frame individual and collective migrant experiences, and how such experiences enmesh with wider geo-spatial, political and domestic context. Amid Shanghai’s presentation as a globally attractive space, we reveal some of the complexities of the cityscape as an emblematic location for highly mobile, highly skilled migrants. A confluence of ideals about urban citizenship, social participation and localised physical activity/sport-based (inter)action, we note, articulate Shanghai anew, and contribute to debates on highly skilled transnational mobility and community formation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 494-503
Author(s):  
Ekarat Sombatsawat ◽  
Titaporn Luangwilai ◽  
Parichat Ong-artborirak ◽  
Wattasit Siriwong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and determine factors influencing MSDs among rice farmers. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study was carried out among 156 rice farmers from 14 villages in Tarnlalord sub-district, Phimai district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, from February 2017 to March 2017. Face-to-face interviews, including demographics, work characteristics and musculoskeletal pain, were conducted using a modified standardized Nordic questionnaire. Findings The results revealed that both 78 males and 78 females participated in the study to which the average of age and body mass index (BMI) was 45.5±11.4 years and 24.9±4.0 kg/m2, respectively. All rice farmers reported MSDs in at least one body region during the six months preceding the interview. The highest prevalence of MSDs showed 86.5 percent in the lower back area, followed by 85.9 percent in the neck, and 80.7 percent in the shoulders. The analysis of binary logistic regression and Spearman’s rank correlation showed that factors such as gender, age, BMI, work experience and farm size influence MSDs’ occurrence, and pain severity in one or more body regions (p < 0.05). Originality/value Musculoskeletal injuries are a significant health problem in rice farmers. The study indicated that appropriate agricultural practices such as working posture, equipment size selection and carrying loads should be recommended to prevent MSDs. Thus, the occupational health and safety services in agricultural workers are needed.


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