Commercial migration intermediaries and the segmentation of skilled migrant employment

Abstract

Like all migration, skilled migration depends on intermediary operators that

Transnationalization of a Recruitment Regime: Skilled Migration to Japan

“…There has been some recent research on non‐skilled labour, yet knowledge about processes taking place in skilled labour migration is still scarce (Van den Broek et al., ). In terms of policy, brokers have on the one hand been associated with the exploitation of migrants, and thus a need to govern their activities, yet there has also been some acknowledgement of the need and collaboration with brokers in terms of governing mobility (Lindquist et al., ).…”

Intermediaries and destination reputations: explaining flows of skilled migration

“…Turning attention to intermediaries and how they shape migration flows shifts the starting point of migration decision making from social networks to intermediary relations (Lindquist et al, 2012;Groutsis et al, 2015;van den Broek et al, 2016). While there is an established literature on how social networks impact the flow of skilled migrants, we know little about new forms of social networks that have emerged between skilled migrants and various intermediaries.…”

“…These intermediaries use social networks to connect skilled migrants in sending countries, provide them with information and services related to labour market opportunities, and mediate between migrants, client organisations and sending and destination countries at critical stages of the migration process (Lindquist et al, 2012;Xiang, 2012). There is a 'grapevine of intermediaries' (Krissman, 2005: 6) and a 'complex articulation of individuals, associations, and organizations' (Goss and Lindquist, 1995: 319), which has intensified the increasingly dependent relationship between migrants and intermediaries (Groutsis et al, 2016). Consequently, there is a need for 'middle-level theory' and 'meso-scale understanding' (Findlay and Li, 1998: 682, 683), particularly in the context of the migration industries, so that we can better understand this complex web of relationships (Xiang, 2012) and their impact on flows of skilled migration.…”

“…To date, there has been limited research on how intermediaries shape the flows of skilled migrants, reinforcing and reproducing the commercial interests within the migration industries. Skilled migrant intermediaries are actors operating at the intersection between skilled migrants and the destination or origin country (Groutsis et al, 2015;van den Broek et al, 2016). They are similar to what the international labour organisation (ILO) refer to as a 'triangular employment relationship' when the intermediary (rather than the employer) engages directly with the migrant (ILO, 2005).…”

“…There has also been little analysis of how intermediaries service skilled migrants (cf. Groutsis et al, 2015;van den Broek et al, 2016) and how the migration industry impacts on migration patterns and networks (Gammeltoft-Hansen and Nyberg Sørensen, 2013;Spaan and Van Naerssen, this volume). Given changes to both the scale of skilled migration and the nature of intermediaries, it is timely to analyse how intermediaries impact on skilled migration flows.…”