Recognising knowledge transfers in ‘unskilled’ and ‘low‐skilled’ international migration: Insights from Pacific Island seasonal workers in rural Australia

Dun, Olivia; Klocker, Natascha; Head, Lesley

doi:10.1111/apv.12198

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Host and participating country governments should integrate climate change adaptation more formally into the SWP to enable relevant funds, programmes and structural supports to ensure that the burden does not fall on workers alone to adapt to climate change, and to facilitate transformative climate change adaptation. For example, workers could be provided training in climate resilient housing, crops and practices through the SWP's Add-on Skills mechanism (see also Dun et al, 2018;Thornton et al, 2020). If workers are provided with options to enhance their skills in climate-resilient housing and agriculture while engaged in agricultural work abroad, they can share these skills and knowledge once back in their home village, which can further result in community-scale adaptation, leading to broader transformations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investing in home: development outcomes and climate change adaptation for seasonal workers living between Solomon Islands and Australia

Dun

McMichael

McNamara

et al. 2022

Migration and Development

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Labour migration is considered an important pathway for improving economic development in countries of origin. In recent years, labour migration, through the 'migration as adaptation' discourse, has been further positioned as a response to changing environmental conditions in places of high climate risk, such as the Pacific Islands region. However, limited empirical work examines whether and how labour mobility schemes enhance both development outcomes and climate change adaptation. This paper considers how temporary and circular labour migrants from Solomon Islands, who are participants in Australia's Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP), are investing in their lives, households and villages in their country of origin in ways that contribute to development and climate change adaptation. Based on in-depth qualitative research with twelve Solomon Islander SWP participants working on citrus farms in the Mildura region, Australia, we find that investments (via funding, resources and skills) made by labour migrants contribute to development and in-situ climate change adaptation, enabling aspirations for a resilient futures in their community of origin. However, we argue climate change considerations should be formally integrated and mainstreamed into the SWP to fully enable possibilities for transformative climate change adaptation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investing in home: development outcomes and climate change adaptation for seasonal workers living between Solomon Islands and Australia

Dun

McMichael

McNamara

et al. 2022

Migration and Development

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“…Williams (2007) contributed to the conceptualization of migrants' tacit knowledge transactions and Hagan and Wassink (2016: 531) provided empirical evidence that tacit skills learned abroad 'facilitated a unique mobility pathway upon return through business formation'. While an individual's level of education frames their learning experiences abroad, migrants' capacity to enhance their human capital and to use it after return was documented for both high-skilled returnees (Klagge and Klein-Hitpaß 2010) as well as for low-skilled returnees (Dun, Klocker, and Head 2018). Within the lessselective new types of intra-European migration, not much attention has been paid to the importance of accumulating human capital abroad in the process of enterprising upon return.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two facets of returnees’ entrepreneurship in Romania: Juxtaposing business owners and self-employed return migrants within a multi-method research framework

Croitoru

Coșciug

2021

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This paper contributes to the growing literature on the diversity of return migration by analysing the different types of small-scale entrepreneurship among returnees. Data from an original survey conducted among Romanian returnees and in-depth interviews with returnees in entrepreneurship are combined to reveal distinct profiles of returnee entrepreneurs and to illustrate their specific ways of thinking about entrepreneurship and migration. Currently, Romania is one of the most fertile settings to research intra-European return migration due to its important flows of temporary international migrants. The paper highlights that there are major differences between business owners and self-employed returnees in terms of entrepreneurship. Returnees who are business owners are those who benefited significantly more from migration than non-entrepreneur returnees—in terms of economic savings, human capital accumulation, and enhancement of their stocks of social capital; while returnees in self-employment reveal no significant differences for these migration outcomes compared to non-entrepreneur returnees. The distinction between the two groups of entrepreneurs has certain implications for origin states’ policies oriented towards stimulating return migration through programmes oriented towards returnees’ entrepreneurship. Keywords: Return Migration; Intra-European Migration; Entrepreneurship; Self-Employment; Multi-Method Social Research. Articolul contribuie la literatura dedicată diversității migrației de revenire prin analiza unor tipuri diferite de antreprenoriat în rândul migranților reîntorși în țara de origine. Pentru a documenta profilurile specifice ale migranților care sunt antreprenori după revenire, sunt combinate date culese printr-un sondaj cu migranți reveniți în România și interviuri de profunzime cu migranți care au statutul de antreprenori după revenirea din străinătate. În prezent, România reprezintă unul dintre contextele excelente pentru cercetarea migrației de revenire datorită fluxurilor importante de migranți temporari internaționali. Lucrarea subliniază o serie de diferențe majore între migranții reveniți care au deschis mici afaceri și cei care lucrează pe cont propriu (de exemplu, sub formă de persoană fizică autorizată). Pe de o parte, migranții reveniți care dețin mici afaceri sunt cei care au beneficiat semnificativ mai mult din experiența de migrație comparativ cu reveniții non-antreprenori, în termeni de bani economisiți din migrație, acumulare de capital uman în străinătate și reconfigurarea capitalului social. Pe de altă parte, compararea profilurilor celor care lucrează pe cont propriu cu non-antreprenorii nu arată diferențe semnificative între cele două categorii în termeni de resurse acumulate prin experiența de migrație. Distincția dintre cele două tipuri de antreprenori poate avea implicații pentru politicile statelor de origine orientate către stimularea migrației de revenire prin programe centrate spre antreprenoriatul migranților reveniți. Cuvinte-cheie: migrație de revenire; migrație intra-europeană; antreprenoriat; angajare pe cont propriu; cercetare multi-metodă.

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“…2018, p.18). Previously, adopting Williams and Baláž's (2008, p.16) terminology, we identified SWP participants as "knowledgeable migrants", arguing that those who are engaged in horticulture in countries of origin and Australia engage in beneficial knowledge and skills transfers (Dun et al 2018). As with other jobs commonly referred to as 'unskilled', there is perceived to be no learning process behind the execution of orange harvest…There are in fact a number of abilities needed to do this job…like recognizing the fruit that meets the required conditions and cutting it without damaging the trees, all at a pace fast enough for good productivity.…”

Section: Searching For Knowledge and Skill In Studies Of Migrant Farmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring migrants’ knowledge and skill in seasonal farm work: more than labouring bodies

et al. 2019

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Migrant farmworkers dominate the horticultural workforce in many parts of the Minority (developed) World. The 'manual' work that they do-picking and packing fruits and vegetables, and pruning vines and trees-is widely designated unskilled. In policy, media, academic, activist and everyday discourses, hired farm work is framed as something anybody can do. We interrogate this notion with empirical evidence from the Sunraysia horticultural region of Australia. The region's grape and almond farms depend heavily on migrant workers. By-and-large, the farmers and farmworkers we spoke to pushed back against the unskilled tag. They asserted that farmworkers acquire knowledge and skills over time and that experienced farmworkers are valuable-their value being brought into sharp relief against accounts of inexperienced farmworkers' errors. Our interviewees provided rich insights into farmworkers' engagements with crops and the intricacies of picking and pruning well. Far from being bereft of knowledge and skills, they recognised that experienced farmworkers bring benefits. They improve productivity, product quality and ultimately profits. This is especially so when open communication channels exist across the farm hierarchy, when experienced farmworkers' insights are taken seriously by their employers. Our research is informed by organisational studies literature and scholarship on craft/ making. Like factory floor workers and artisans, experienced farmworkers bring accumulated knowledge and skills to their work, gained through repeat performance. They reflect on and adjust their activities in dialogue with their materials and the environment. Experienced farmworkers demonstrate care, dexterity and judgement. They are not unskilled, and they are more than labouring bodies.

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Recognising knowledge transfers in ‘unskilled’ and ‘low‐skilled’ international migration: Insights from Pacific Island seasonal workers in rural Australia

Cited by 22 publications

References 47 publications

Investing in home: development outcomes and climate change adaptation for seasonal workers living between Solomon Islands and Australia

Investing in home: development outcomes and climate change adaptation for seasonal workers living between Solomon Islands and Australia

Two facets of returnees’ entrepreneurship in Romania: Juxtaposing business owners and self-employed return migrants within a multi-method research framework

Exploring migrants’ knowledge and skill in seasonal farm work: more than labouring bodies

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