Skilled migrants in the Middle East: definitions, mobility and integration

Abstract

This paper focuses on skilled migrants moving to and integrating in the Middle East. We provide a series of factors to help conceptualise this heterogeneous group. The paper looks at various types of skilled migration, mobility and integration as well as the challenges that individual migrants have faced. We argue that when thinking about migration and integration, it is important to appreciate multiple scales of analysis. We also highlight that although skilled migrants have confronted a number of migration and integration barriers, many have also experienced additional challenges on the basis of their identity.

Transformations in Network Governance: The Case of Migration Intermediaries

“…Relatedly, feeding into this transition to market-driven migration has been the pool of available, educated, mobile and skilled stocks of labour (Harvey and Groutsis 2012).…”

“…This research argues that given their provision of information and support structures, migration intermediaries play an important role in facilitating the decision to migrate and integrating migrants into the destination country labour market (Harvey and Groutsis 2012;Salt and Stein 1997). As such, irrespective of the depth of their involvement in the migration process, migrants are dependent on their services (Findlay and Li 1998, 682) and beholden to their financial demands (Agunias 2009;Salt and Stein 1997).…”

Cross-cultural and diversity management intersections: lessons for attracting and retaining international assignees

“…In this regard, managing intranational diversity among SIEs is not dissimilar to managing cross-national diversity among expatriates in the host country (Tung, 1993). In addition to this (and in common with traditional expatriates), firms, occupations and industries also demand SIEs, who may be enticed by the prospect of higher wages, career opportunities and the excitement of a different cultural experience (Al Ariss et al, 2012;Harvey & Groutsis, 2012;Groutsis & Arnold, 2012). Skilled workers are thus encouraged to relocate for work purposes, and this extends beyond those who travel for work purposes within the confines of interfirm transfers.…”

The ‘New’ Migration for Work Phenomenon: The Pursuit of Emancipation and Recognition in the Context of Work

“…Furthermore, we also acknowledge the relational, temporal and spatial characteristics that shape a context-dependent and locally specific approach to evaluating skilled migrant workers (Shan, 2013). As a by-product of policy and political differences observed within different country contexts, scholars unanimously observe there is no universal or firm definition of a skilled migrant (Boucher, 2019; Harvey and Groutsis, 2012; Raghuram, 2000). If we consider the variation in the process of data collection by migration and labour market authorities surrounding skilled migrant workers, the associated moveable feast of policy definitions surrounding the collection of data, and the addition of a migrant’s identity characteristics as markers of ‘skill’ (including gender, age and country of qualifications acquisition), we can safely conclude that a solid definition is near impossible.…”