scholarly journals Highly Skilled Migrants from Post-Soviet States: Labor Mobility

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 31-59
Author(s):  
Vladimir I. Mukomel

The Russian labor market is experiencing a shortage of highly skilled workers, and there is a consensus in Russian society that it is necessary to attract and utilize the labor of highly qualified foreign specialists. The key question of the article is: how much demand is there on the Russian labor market for the knowledge and experience of highly qualified migrants? What types of economic activities and occupations are typical for highly skilled migrants? What is their horizontal and vertical mobility on the Russian labor market? The article shows that highly skilled workers who come from post-Soviet states to Russia take jobs which are not in demand among Russian workers; the main types of their economic activities are trade, construction, utilities, social and personal services, and household assistance. Neither specific skills and knowledge nor qualifications of foreign workers are demanded on the Russian labor market: over 80% of highly skilled migrants work at jobs which do not require their education or qualification. Vertical labor mobility is predominantly downward, and upward mobility is quite rare (downward mobility is less typical for highly skilled migrants who have received education in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus). The empirical basis of the study was the results of sociological surveys of 1,450 highly qualified migrants from the CIS and Georgia in 2017 and 1,050 in 2011.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 186-204
Author(s):  
Vladimir Mukomel

The article examines the features of employment in the Russian labor market of highly skilled labor migrants from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The main attention is paid to their economic activities, occupations, wages and labor intensity in comparison with similar characteristics of less skilled Central Asian labor migrants and highly skilled migrants from other post-Soviet states. It is concluded that highly skilled migrants from Central Asia, being more successful than their less skilled compatriots, lose in competition for the best jobs to highly skilled migrants from other countries. Special attention is paid to the behavior of highly skilled Central Asian migrants during the pandemic in 2020, when they demonstrated a high potential for adaptation to the extraordinary transformation of the labor market. Regarding the situation as temporary during the first wave of the pandemic (spring 2020), confident in their ability to find a job in Russia and not wanting to leave it, highly qualified Central Asian migrants did not err in their expectations, strengthening their position in the Russian labor market. During the second wave of the pandemic (autumn 2020), their optimism, based on assessing the possibilities of finding a decent job in Russia, satisfaction with conditions and wages, increased even more. The empirical base of the study was the results of sociological surveys of labor migrants from the CIS countries, Ukraine and Georgia in 2017, as well as during the first and second waves of the pandemic (2020).


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktoriia Blyzniuk ◽  
Yaryna Yuryk

The article deals with educational and qualificational features and disproportions of the regional labor market. The authors reveal and summarize the features of structural and dynamic characteristics of the labor market in an industrial region (Zaporizhzhya region), and professional and sectoral structure of the employed and unemployed population. The disproportionality between regional distribution of vocational education and demand for skilled labor is considered in the context of the uneven distribution of employees by professions and economic activities, which led to distortions in the quantitative and qualitative structure of the labor market and further aggravated the mismatch between the level of labor's skills and the needs of employers at the regional level. The paper substantiates the conclusion about the autonomy of the trajectories of vocational education development in the region and the labor market of worker professions, which shows up in the excessive qualification of the employed population in the region. Based on the results of analytical calculations, the authors identified and fully characterized the professional "core" of the Zaporizhzhya region, which covers no less than 80% of all employed in the worker professions and identified, in its structure, the most wide spread professions in the region. The comparative characteristic of the professional "core" with the need of employers and their salary offers allowed to identify the bottlenecks of the occupational structure of employment in the region. Since the training of workers in accordance with the policy of decentralization is a prerogative of local authorities, it is at the regional level that workers should be trained to ensure the replenishment of a professional "core". The authors prove that the system of worker training in Zaporizhzhya region is not able to bring the training of skilled workers in line with the needs of the labor market. It is the social dialogue with all stakeholders in the region that acquires particular importance for the modernization of the content of educational policy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Marco Mazzeschi

<p>A worldwide shortage of about 38-40 million highly skilled workers is forecast by 2020. Many countries are implementing policies to attract workers with special skills and knowledge. What is the European Union doing to face this challenge? In 2009 the EU adopted the so called Blue Card Directive (n. 2009/50) to attract highly qualified workers from abroad, address labour and skills shortages and strengthen the EU’s competitiveness and economic growth. The Directive was implemented by most EU countries during 2012 but has proven to be insufficiently attractive and underused, with only a limited number of Blue Cards issued. For these reasons, the EU Commission has announced some proposed changes to the Blue Card Directive. The specific objectives are, amongst other things, to increase the numbers of third-country highly skilled workers immigrating to the EU and simplify and harmonise admission procedures for third-country highly skilled workers.</p><p>The article also outlines a summary of the current state of implementation of the Directive in the following countries: Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and The Netherlands.</p>


Author(s):  
Ani Galstyan

Maintaining the EU's position in the world is preconditioned (among other things) by sustainable economic growth in its member states. Currently, all the EU countries are facing the effects from the rapidly aging population, which is one of the most serious obstacles to sustainable economic growth. In the short term, it may be possible to eliminate the effects of aging population through better use of available human resources. However, in the longer perspective, this will not be enough to counter unfavorable demographic trends. In this context, it will be necessary to increase the share of the economically active population, and this can be partially done through international migration of highly qualified workers. However, our study shows that the level of immigration of highly qualified workers remains modest in most of the EU countries. In this paper, we are analyzing the causes behind the current situation and are also trying to formulate recommendations for migration policy focused on highly skilled labor. At the same time, we are aware that, while international migration contributes to the accumulation of human capital, it cannot by itself solve the structural issues of European labor markets.


Author(s):  
R. Stakanov ◽  
L. Shvorak ◽  
A. Ukhova

The main purposes of the article are to analyze the concept of intellectual migrant, to consider the features of international migration of highly skilled workers, problems and consequences of intellectual migration, to study the factors affecting the migrant in a new environment using the U-shaped Lysgaard curve, to determine the features and causes of migration from Ukraine. The basic migration directions of the Ukrainian students for study and outflow of highly qualified personnel abroad are considered in the article. The main directions and centers of migrant flows in the world are analyzed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Metka Hercog ◽  
Laure Sandoz

This special issue offers an opportunity to delve into the construction of migrant categories through policy design and policy implementation. It proposes to widen the focus beyond immigration authorities in order to include actors that are in one or another way involved in the process of selecting, supporting or employing highly skilled workers and therefore also contributing to their definition. The aim of the special issue is to bring to the surface the indistinct objectives of immigration policies, and to analyse the interplay between policies, discourses and practices. More precisely, we discuss the argument that the definition of highly skilled migrants depends more on how potential migrants are viewed by interest groups than on migrants’ characteristics.


Author(s):  
L. A. Yakubova

The given paper touches upon the problem of German migration policy in contemporary period. The on-going processes allow us to conclude that the German migration paradigm has been changing as well as one of the most successful states in the European Union and as a state endowed with the greatest peace load after the crisis of 2008. The study gives the main qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the German migration policy in the 2000s. First of all, it is characterized by changes in the geography of migration flows. In 2004, with ten new countries entering the EU, the inflow of migrants from Eastern Europe countries began to increase. During this period, the number of immigrants from Poland has almost doubled. After Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, the number of people from these countries also increased by more than three times. At the period of 2008 crisis, the inflow of migrants from Italy, Spain, Greece and the Balkan countries intensified; the number of migrants from Croatirapidly increasedafter this country joined the EU in 2013. The author analyzes the qualitative composition of migrants and concludes that, from the beginning of the 21st century, the working migration, having dominated for many decades, is gradually changing in favor of skilled workers’ migration. The important role of universities in order to attract highly qualified specialists is substantiated. The migration impact on the labor market is studied with a special attention. It is due to the fact that, when arriving in the country and getting the opportunity to apply skills and realize their human capital, a migrant becomes a kind of investor in the hosting country economy, contributing to its growth. One of its main advantages is that, already having a certain set of knowledge and skills (the hosting country does not need to pay for his education), he can generate new knowledge, create innovations, thereby increasing the competitiveness of the recipient country economy. Germany has a policy of attracting highly qualified migrants to the country. The paper touches upon the innovations in the migration policy of Germany in the 21st century. A “Blue Card” has been introduced for highly qualified professionals in accordance with the EU directive and labor market regulation has been changed. The need to reduce the number of legal restrictions for migrants from third countries, and to improve attitudes towards migrants, despite the failure of the multiculturalism policy, is indicated too. There are still many obstacles to immigrants’active participation in the labor market, such language difficulties, differences in educational systems, and lack of information about vacancies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Camilla Spadavecchia ◽  
Jie Yu

The shortage of skilled labor and the global competition for highly qualified employees has challenged Dutch companies to develop strategies to attract Highly Skilled Migrants (HSMs). This paper presents a study exploring how well-being is experienced by HSMs living in the Eindhoven region, a critical Dutch Tech Hub. Our population includes highly skilled women and men who moved to Eindhoven for work or to follow their partner trajectory. By analyzing data according to these four groups, we detect significant differences among HSMs. Given the exploratory nature of this work, we use a qualitative method based on semi-structured interviews. Our findings show that gender plays a crucial role in experienced well-being for almost every dimension analyzed. Using an intersectional approach, we challenge previous models of well-being, and we detect different factors that influence the respondents’ well-being when intersecting with gender. Those factors are migratory status, the reason to migrate, parenthood, and origin (EU/non-EU). When all the factors intersect, participants’ well-being decreases in several areas: career, financial satisfaction, subjective well-being, and social relationships. Significant gender differences are also found in migration strategies. Finally, we contribute to debates about skilled migration and well-being by including an intersectional perspective.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.M. Petrushenko ◽  
N.V. Zemlyak ◽  
V.Y. Shapoval ◽  
V.V. Dibrova

The migration of highly skilled workers is becoming an increasingly important factor that is influencing the development of specific countries as well as different regions of the world. In fact, in the European Union, the tendency of low-skilled workers shortage is changing to the trend of promoting the highly skilled workers migration, which can create added value and contribute to pension funds for the aging population in those states. At the same time, due to the loss of highly qualified personnel, the recipient countries are losing the pace of their economic development. The relevance of this study is also enhanced by changing conditions for international labor migration to the European Union in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, including for highly qualified Ukrainian professionals. The article examines the reasons of highly skilled workers migration processes, analyzes the consequences for different stakeholders and provides methods to reduce the scale of such migration. To analyze the reasons of highly qualified specialists labor migration, the model of "Push and Pull" factors was used on the example of Ukraine and the European Union. The positive and negative consequences of the highly qualified specialists’ migration growth for various stakeholders of this process have been identified. It is also proved that despite the fact that salaries are growing in real terms in Ukraine, the difference in salaries in the main areas of emigration to the EU is so large that it is likely to continue to motivate people to work and earn abroad. Moreover, the existence of a large and growing Ukrainian diaspora tends to encourage the migration of other family members and friends, providing informational and logistical support in destination countries. This attraction may increase in the coming years, and the diaspora will continue to expand. In the article, it is also described the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the highly qualified professionals’ migration, and it gives a number of proposals or recommendations that could be implemented at the level of state migration policy to address highly qualified professionals labor migration or at least improve the current situation. The proposed recommendations of the migration policy to confront the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic include the establishment of a mechanism for coordination and consultation between all government institutions, authorities and agencies involved in labor migration, as well as the establishment of tripartite procedures for advising employers and workers of migration organizations and considering their opinions on the given topic.


Author(s):  
Claudia Sadowski-Smith

This chapter discusses the results of my interviews with post-USSR immigrants in Phoenix, Arizona, which place male-dominated highly skilled and female-dominated marriage migration in the context of scholarship on adaptation and return migration. The two migratory forms have been spurred by the interests of US men in creating monoracial families and by the immense growth in the number of contingent academic positions at US institutions of higher learning. Their differential legal status upon arrival provides post-Soviet marriage and highly skilled migrants with divergent access to economic, social, and cultural forms of US citizenship, community building, and opportunities for return. Highly skilled migrants create middle-class lives, appear less interested in participating in a coethnic community, and maintain limited physical transnational connections, while marriage migrants face downward mobility and dependency, experience greater difficulty connecting to other post-Soviet migrants, and more often consider returning. While they are immediately provided with membership in their husbands’ middle-class lives, the globalized form of US whiteness that marriage migrants are assigned even before they leave their countries of origin creates heightened expectations of their complete assimilation to a middle-class whiteness at the cost of their and often their children’s bicultural and transnational identities.


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