Communicating Employability: the Role of Communicative Competence for Zimbabwean Highly Skilled Migrants in the UK

Abstract

Skilled migration is an increasingly important topic for both policy and research internationally. OECD governments in particular are wrestling with tensions between their desire to use skilled migration to be on the winning side in the 'global war for talent' and their pandering to and/or attempts to outflank rising xenophobia. One aspect that has received relatively little attention is skilled migration from the African Commonwealth to the UK, a situation in which skilled migrants have relatively high levels of linguistic capital in the language of the host country. We focus here on the case of Zimbabwe. In spite of its popular image as a failed state, Zimbabwe has an exceptionally strong educational tradition and high levels of literacy and fluency in English. Drawing on 20 in-depth interviews of Zimbabwean highly skilled migrants, we explore the specific ways in which the communicative competences of these migrants with high formal levels of English operate in complex ways to shape their employability strategies and outcomes. We offer two main findings: first, that a dichotomy exists between their high level formal linguistic competence and their ability to communicate in less formal interactions, which challenges their employability, at least when they first move to the UK; and second, that they also lack, at least initially, the competence to narrativise their employability in ways that are culturally appropriate in England. Thus, to realise the full potential of their high levels of human capital, they need to learn how to communicate competently in a very different social and occupational milieu. Some have achieved this, but others continue to struggle.

The importance of friends: social life challenges for foreign physicians in Southern Sweden

“…As employment is generally seen as an essential feature of successful integration of migrants in the host society, also the studies on highly skilled migrants predominantly focus on matters related to employment and workplace (e.g. Benson-Rea & Rawlinson, 2003;Liversage, 2009;Madziva, McGrath, & Thondhlana, 2016;Nohl, Schittenhelm, Schmidtke, & Weiß, 2006;Schittenhelm & Schmidtke, 2010;Somerville & Walsworth, 2010). However, even if successful employment integration is indisputably important for high-skilled migrants' integration in the place of residence, a growing body of academic literature shows that this rests not only on professional but also on non-work-related factors.…”

On becoming a skilled migrant: towards habitus transformation through higher education

“…Her case is however particularly interesting in that after a long time in semi-skilled work she decided to identify those skills she had acquired from her Zimbabwean and UK education and work experiences which are transferable to other types of work and easily got an administration job in a hospital. Of getting this job she says I realised that I could combine my various skills and experiences working as a secretary and clerk in Zimbabwe and studying my degree to find a fit with admin This is significant because it also suggests the emergence of a new UK-based habitus for this group and possibly the wider Zimbabwean diaspora in the UK whereby education is more than just gaining a qualification but gaining transferable skills which enhance labour market access (Madziva et al, 2014).…”

“…Looking at migration from diverse contexts, research has noted the crippling labour market challenges faced by highly skilled migrants who in many cases lose their previously accumulated human capital (Chiswick and Miller, 2009) as evidenced by the non-recognition of their qualifications and experiences and labour market insertion failures (Oliver and O'Reilly, 2010). As noted by Madziva, McGrath and Thondhlana (2014) not much research has been carried out on higher education (HE) and labour market experiences of migrants from the commonwealth and especially those from Anglophone Africa. This study, which focuses on Zimbabwean migrants who came to the UK without degrees but have managed to acquire a UK degree, adds to the steady growth of research interest in this population.…”

“…Research has documented the labour market challenges faced by Zimbabwean migrants who come to the UK with Zimbabwean degrees and work experience many of whom fail to get jobs in their fields of specialisation due to what is seen as the non-transferability of their qualifications, skills and experiences and who end up seeking employment in the non-skilled and semi-skilled sectors (Madziva, McGrath and Thondhlana, 2014;Mbiba, 2011). Only a few are able to get into skilled jobs, particularly those in the regulated and sought after professions such as engineering and the health sector due to the transferability of their institutionalised cultural capital.…”

Coping and adaptation mechanisms employed by sub-Saharan African migrant women in South Africa

“…It is imperative for migrant women or any migrants to have certain levels of linguistic capital in the language(s) of the host country in order for to be able to communicate (Madziva, McGrath & Thondhlana 2016). English is one of the main languages used in South Africa.…”