Exploring the Experiences of Highly Skilled Immigrants in Career and Technical Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Immigrants are more likely to arrive in the United States with lower levels of education, resulting in lower-status jobs, leading to lower incomes and less accumulation of wealth. However, a segment of the immigrant population enters the United States with the expectation of contributing immediately and directly to the country’s economic advancement: the highly skilled immigrant. Unfortunately, many cannot gain recognition for their foreign academic or occupational credentials while in the United States. For many, career and technical education, or vocational programs, have been helpful. Utilizing the acculturation framework, this study explores the experiences of ten highly skilled immigrants with credentials from their home countries who could not gain recognition for their credentials in the United States. This study further examines the motivations that led them to enroll in career and technical education programs in the United States. The findings from this study presented the themes of (1) Inability to continue in the previous career, (2) High cost of graduate degrees in the United States, (3) Difficulties in transferring foreign credentials, (4) Immediate employment opportunities after career and technical education program completion and (5) Age/Adult learner.