Immigrant Work Integration: A Wicked Problem

Abstract

This introductory chapter discusses qualified immigrants’ (QIs) work integration as a wicked problem, highlighting their underemployment or unemployment despite receiving countries’ reported labor shortages and need for talent. We outline the goals of this book and establish sensemaking as an emerging yet underdeveloped theoretical approach to studying this wicked problem. We begin with some key definitions, provide specific examples from Canada (the primary site of our ongoing fieldwork), and sketch the structure of this book.