Door openers? Public officials as supportive actors in the labour market participation of descendants of immigrants in Sweden

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine how employed descendants of immigrants in Sweden perceive that interactions with public officials have benefitted their occupational aspirations and attainments. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with twelve female and nine male descendants of immigrants, followed by an abductive thematic analysis. Applying a theoretical framework of social capital, we found three main influences of public officials from respondents' perspectives: 1) connectedness, 2) supporting personal goals and focusing on possibilities, and 3) mediation of knowledge and information. We discuss and analyse the symbolic resources deriving from these influences, e.g. increased motivation and self-belief, and conceptualize these resources as social capital contributing to the occupational aspirations and attainments of immigrants' descendants. KEYWORDS Descendantsof immigrants; public officials; social work; social capital; labour market CONTACT Pinar Aslan pinar.aslan@hig.se NORDIC SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH https://doi.

Exploring Employability Constructions of Migrants in Sweden and Potential Consequences for Labour Market Entrance Recommendations

“…Present day society and working life is increasingly attuned to the neoliberal view of people as free and transferable individuals with the capacity to make their own decisions on all aspects of education, work, and career development (Aslan et al 2019;Davies et al 2005;Fejes 2010;Garsten and Jacobsson 2013;Gazso 2007). Alongside and within the expansion of neoliberal frameworks and procedural developments in Sweden, the concept of employability has received more and more attention (e.g., Diedrich and Styhre 2013; Fejes 2010; Garsten and Jacobsson 2013).…”

“…Only by being considered unemployable is the migrant eligible for labour market measures to counter unemployment and lack of employability, and can thereby have the potential to increase employability. Hence, how employment opportunities are presented and employability is constructed by public officials can be of vital importance (see also Aslan et al 2019), and this is something in need of further research attention.…”

“…Previous research has shown the importance of employment for social inclusion and integration of migrants (e.g., Aslan et al 2018;van Riemsdijk et al 2016), and public officials can play an important role in facilitating the process towards gaining employment (Aslan et al 2019;Eggenhofer-Rehart et al 2018;Pajic et al 2018). An individual's perception of their employment opportunities is influenced by a number of aspects, among them ascriptions of employability, suggested guidance and information provided by government officials, Public Employment Service representatives, and recruitment agents.…”

“…It also appears more or less impossible to navigate through this process, and search for personally relevant information, without some knowledge of how Swedish society and institutions of importance function. While public officials are important as sources of information and support in the process towards gaining employment (Aslan et al 2019;Eggenhofer-Rehart et al 2018;Pajic et al 2018), information should be accessible without the need for any extensive support. This is indicated by the translation of many of the webpages into the most common languages among migrants, and explicit statements that Swedish is not a prerequisite for certain training programmes.…”

“…For newly arrived migrants, their ways of constructing their own employability in a new context can be very challenging, especially if the cultural norms in the old and new country differ greatly (Eggenhofer-Rehart et al 2018). Various intermediaries and gatekeepers in the labour market can play an important role in this process, but they can also restrict the reformulation of employability and social capital (Aslan et al 2019;Eggenhofer-Rehart et al 2018;Pajic et al 2018).…”