Returned migrants acquisition of competences: the contingencies of space and time

Abstract

The conditions which determine the acquisition of skills by migrants are still poorly understood. This paper addresses two of those conditions: the temporality of the acquisition of competences, whether the number and duration of migrations matter, as well as the spatiality, or the variation across countries of origin and return. Based on a large-scale online panel survey of returned young migrants in nine European countries, the significance of time (duration) and space (number of migrations) in the acquisition of skills and competences are examined. The findings reveal that young European returnees" experiences gained abroad result in largely positive outcomes but with significant differences between formal qualifications, language skills and personal and cultural competences.However, their acquisition of skills and competences is mediated by temporalitythe combination of number of trips, and duration of migration. Spatiality is also important, with outcomes depending on the destination countries, and whether migration and return are from or to rural versus urban areas.These indicate that structural considerations continue to shape individual migration experiences within the EU"s freedom of movement space.

Introduction to the Special Issue: European youth migration: human capital outcomes, skills and competences

“…The papers by Baláž et al (2019) and Janta et al (2019) confirm that formal and informal types of human capital are distinct and different. Even shorter experiences of migration improve soft skills and competences such as self-confidence and language ability that migrants value and are likely to enhance either their careers or personal development upon return.…”

“…While the extant literature is strong in national contexts (or in contexts of certain, usually high-skilled professions), we investigate actually existing shorter-term migration, ruptured migration trajectories, and multiple migrations either for the shorter term or in circular patterns. We also investigate the specific influences of different temporalities of migration, whether in terms of number of sojourns, or their duration (Janta et al 2019). Hence, we need to establish a more robust understanding of how human capital gains are achieved over time and whether shorter-term migration develops social and individual competences as well.…”

“…These databases provide unique insights into the transferability of human capital in the context of the nine project-partner countries. The papers presented in this Special Issue offer a range of methodological approaches, using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods; a particular feature is that some papers present a pan-European analysis (Janta et al 2019;McGarry et al 2019), others a two-country comparative analysis (Staniscia et al 2019) or single country cases (Moroşanu et al 2019;Baláž et al 2019;Emilsson and Mozetič 2019;Aksakal and Schmidt 2019), probing deeper into novel questions of human capital. The two studies outside of the YMOBILITY project (Palovic, Janta, and Williams 2019; Grabowska and Jastrzębowska 2019) focus on single country cases; Slovakia and Poland, utilising multiple data sources.…”

“…Three of the papers (Janta et al 2019;Baláž et al 2019;McGarry et al 2019), examine perceptions of formal and informal human capital acquisition through intra-EU mobility, using data from a large quantitative survey. The focus here is on returnees in different contexts and human capital gains among circular migrants and other mobile groups.…”

“…We now summarise each paper's contribution to the revisited human capital framework in turn. Janta et al (2019) examine the influence of time and space in the acquisition of skills and competences through international mobility experience(s). The paper provides strong evidence that EU-intra mobility is valued highly among returnees when it comes to acquiring various skills.…”