Integrating Highly Skilled Migrants into the Economy

Abstract

In traditional scholarly and public debate, North American societies such as Canada and European societies like Great Britain and Germany are portrayed as having essentially different immigration regimes. Canada is seen as the quintessential immigrant society with consistently high levels of newcomers throughout much of the last century, and an immigration policy that is driven by the idea of attracting highly qualified migrants and integrating them swiftly into society and the labour market. By contrast, this multifaceted commitment to becoming an immigrant society has been absent from European countries until now. While some countries have factually changed from being countries of emigration to those of immigration, attracting newcomers has traditionally been more a matter of those countries' colonial legacy, or, in other cases such as Germany, one of hiring temporary workers during the postwar economic boom. This has left European countries with a distinctly different legacy of selecting immigrants and integrating them into the fabric of their societies.Yet, challenging this ideal-typical distinction between European societies and settler societies in North America, many countries in Europe have warmed up to the idea of pursuing a more elaborate and expanded immigration policy/ Individual European countries have increasingly been involved in the global competition for highly skilled migrants. At the national and European level, attracting a well-educated work force from abroad is widely perceived to be a major strategy to address the demographic transformation of western countries and to keep knowledge-based economies competitive. With low birth rates, European societies are ageing quickly and are likely to face a severe shortage of qualified labour in the near future. Across party lines, political and business communities widely agree that demographic change will be the key threat to Europe's international economic competitiveness. In spite of considerable public reservations, promoting immigration has become one of the most important answers to this challenge.Germany and the UK are pertinent examples of how this assessment has led to substantial changes in immigration policy.2 Echoing similar attempts in other European countries, Germany and the UK have introduced legislation that seeks to facilitate immigration and to target highly qualified newcomers. Not too surprisingly, the Canadian point system and its emphasis on the education and work experience of applicants has served as a blueprint for new policies designed to attract more highly qualified immigrants. The key assumption driving the adoption of these policies is that these skilled newcomers are quickly integrated into the workforce and contribute to the wellbeing of the recipient country.Rather than focusing on recent changes in immigration policy and increasing international competition for the best minds, this article analyzes how successful Canadian and European societies have been, from a comparative perspective, in taking advantage of newcomers' skills and in providing them with equitable access to professional opportunities. In this respect, it is also worth noting several key differences in the respective countries' labour markets. Compared to their continental European counterparts, North American societies have traditionally been characterized by less regulated labour markets and a higher degree of labour mobility. However, European labour markets are now tending to move in a similar direction. We have recently witnessed a shift away from long-term employment careers toward an increase in temporary contracts, part-time work, and self-employment.3 The fate of highly skilled immigrants in the economy is shaped by these structural changes in national economies and by the more specific occupational conditions in particular professional fields.4 Keeping these complex processes of integrating highly skilled migrants into the labour market in mind, what are the achievements and challenges of policies that are designed to compete for the most qualified migrants, people who often enjoy a great degree of mobility in the globalized economy? …