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Crushed hopes: Underemployment and deskilling among skilled migrant women

Type:
Document
Content Type:
Crushed hopes: Underemployment and deskilling among skilled migrant women
Language:

English

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english
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skpEng
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Information is gathered from other international organizations that promote skills development and the transition from education and training to work. The Interagency Group on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (IAG-TVET) was established in 2009 to share research findings, coordinate joint research endeavours, and improve collaboration among organizations working at the international and national levels.

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skpIntOrg
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international-organizations
Topics:

Migrant workers

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According to the ILO global estimates on migrant workers, there were around 164 million migrant workers in 2017. 

Migrant workers contribute to growth and development in their countries of destination, while countries of origin greatly benefit from their remittances and the skills acquired during their migration experience. Yet, many migrant workers face challenges in accessing quality training and decent jobs including under-utilization of skills, a lack of employment or training opportunities, lack of information, and exploitation of low-skilled workers.

To address these challenges, countries need to strengthen skills anticipation systems to inform migration policies, increase access to education and training, and establish bilateral or multilateral recognition of qualifications and skills.

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skpMigWor
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migrant-workers
Knowledge Products:

Case studies and good practices

Case studies that document good practices and illustrate the benefits and lessons learnt of particular approaches or methods in real practice. 

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skpCaseStdy
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case-studies-and-good-practices

Research papers

Working papers, reports, and other publications from international organizations, academic institutions and bilateral agencies. Research findings to stimulate informed debate on skills, employment and productivity issues. 

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skpRPS
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research-papers
Publication Date:
04 Mar 2015
This report is a collective publication comprising a review of international literature on the subject of migrant deskilling and underemployment from a gender perspective and three empirical case studies from Switzerland, Canada and the United Kingdom. It explores the disproportionate difficulties skilled migrant women can face in transferring their skills and finding employment commensurate with their education when relocating to a new country. The case studies highlight situations in which migratory status and labour market dynamics can combine to constrain skilled and highly skilled migrant women to low-skilled occupations despite their often high human capital. They also analyse the impact that such occupational downgrading can have on migrant women’s well-being and the strategies that women can adopt to regain a professional status.
Subject Tags:

Gender

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294
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294

Low skilled workers

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low-skilled-workers
Identifier
650

Migrant workers

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migrant-workers
Identifier
681

Migration policy

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migration-policy
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309
Regions: