Immigrant and Asylum Seekers Labour Market Integration upon Arrival: NowHereLand

Description

Through an inter-subjective lens, this open access book investigates the initial labour market integration experiences of these migrants, refugees or asylum seekers, who are characterised by different biographies and migration/asylum trajectories. The book gives voice to the migrants and seeks to highlight their own experiences and understandings of the labour market integration process, in the first years of immigration. It adopts a critical, qualitative perspective but does not remain ethnographic. The book rather refers the migrants’ own voice and experience to their own expert knowledge of the policy and socio-economic context that is navigated. Each chapter brings into dialogue the migrant’s intersubjective experiences with the relevant policies and practices, as well as with the relevant stakeholders, whether local government, national services, civil society or migrant organisations. The book concludes with relevant critical insights as to how labour market integration is lived on the ground and on what migrants ‘do’ with labour market policies rather than on what labour market policies ‘do’ to or for migrants. Contents About the Editors Acknowledgements List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1: Labour Market Integration as an Interactive Process 1.1 They Are Here and Now 1.2 The Notion of Labour Market Integration 1.3 Migrant Agency 1.4 Interpretive-Biographic Framework: Agency Under the Microscope 1.4.1 Biographic Milestones of Agency 1.5 Interpretive Biography: An Unfinished Breakthrough 1.6 A Tribute to `Global Methodologies´ 1.7 Turning Points: The Lighthouses of Migrant Agency 1.8 Epiphany - A Window into the Migrant´s Soul 1.9 Epiphanic Moment - Confused Temporality 1.10 Epiphanic Triangle 1.11 Ordinary `Heroes´: Third-Country Nationals on the EU Labour Market 1.12 When Epiphany Meets Agency: The Structure of the Book References Chapter 2: Female Migrants´ Experiences of Labour Market `Integration´ in Denmark 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Contemporary Patterns of Migration in Denmark 2.2.1 The Scope of Migration to Denmark 2.2.2 Contemporary Asylum Governance 2.2.3 The Main Routes to Europe and the Struggle of Reaching Scandinavia 2.3 Informants, Methodological Reflections and Trajectories 2.4 Biographies of Integration: Turning Points and Epiphanies in the Narratives of Female Migrants in Denmark 2.4.1 Turning Points Related to Emotional Triggers 2.4.2 Turning Points Related to Instrumental Factors 2.5 Actors and Factors that Trigger Epiphanies and Turning Points in Interviewees´ Integration Pathways 2.6 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 3: Examining Non-EU Migrants and Refugees´ Agency When Navigating the British Labour Markets 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Britain the Fortress: Barriers and Enablers for the Integration of Migrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers 3.3 Methodology 3.4 The Voices of Migrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers in Fortress Britain 3.4.1 Trauma and Vulnerability: Solitude and Precarious Temporality 3.5 Acquiring Skills `Recognised´ by the Host Society: Language, Education, and Work Experience 3.5.1 Entrance in the Job Market: Volunteering, Networking, and Discrimination or Lack of Knowledge 3.5.2 Resilience: A Potential Propellant for Inclusion 3.6 Social Capital, Discrimination, and Temporality 3.7 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 4: Switzerland and the Two Faces of Integration 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Methodological Considerations 4.3 The Swiss Policy Context: Barriers and Enablers for MRAs´ Integration 4.4 Migrants´ Stories of Integration and the Dynamics of Structural and Agential Factors 4.4.1 Motherhood as a Driving Force and a Turning Point 4.4.2 Social or Political Activism as a Cause of Migration and a Coping Strategy 4.4.3 The Fear of Deskilling and Labour Market Marginalisation 4.4.4 Labour Market Informality and Discrimination 4.4.5 Trauma and Ways of Coping with Psychological Distress 4.5 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 5: Precarity, Opportunity, and Adaptation: Recently Arrived Immigrant and Refugee Experiences Navigating the Canadian ... 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Immigrant Labour Market Settlement: The Canadian Context 5.3 Methodology 5.3.1 Interview Recruitment and Analysis 5.3.2 Researcher Positionality and Ethical Considerations of Narrative Biographical Approach 5.3.3 The Narrative-Biographic Approach 5.4 Precarity, Agency, and Migration 5.4.1 Navigating Precarious Status 5.4.2 Taking a `Step Back´ - Downward Labour Mobility 5.4.3 Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic 5.5 The Role of Mediators in Labour Market Settlement: Individuals, Networks, and Institutions 5.5.1 Personal and Professional Networks 5.5.2 Settlement Services and Educational Institutions 5.6 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 6: Italy: The Promised Land? Journeys of Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers Towards Labour Market Integration 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The Italian Context: Immigration and Integration Challenges 6.3 Methodology and Ethics 6.4 Integration Paths of the Migrants, Biographies of Integration 6.4.1 The Beginning: Migration Channel and Legal Status 6.4.2 Entering the Labour Market 6.4.3 Dreams and Reality (Expectations and Aspirations) 6.4.4 Resilience 6.5 Triggering Actors 6.5.1 Family, Friends, and Ethnic Networks 6.5.2 Professional Contacts and Networks 6.5.3 The Role of CSOs and State Policies and Support 6.5.4 Education and Training Institutions 6.6 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 7: Resistance Is Useless! (And So Are Resilience and Reworking): Migrants in the Finnish Labour Market 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Theoretical Background: Unpacking Labour Market Integration in Finland and Migrant Agency 7.3 Methodology 7.3.1 Data and Methods 7.3.2 Integration Actors in Focus 7.3.3 Structure of the Paper 7.4 Migrants in the Finnish Job Market 7.4.1 Phase 1: Resilience - Finding and Keeping the First Job 7.4.2 Phase 2: Reworking for Career and Work Mobility 7.4.3 Phase 3: Resistance - Where Do Migrants Draw the Line? 7.5 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 8: Migration to the Czech Republic: Personal Stories About Running from and Running Towards 8.1 Labour Migration as a National Policy: An Introduction to the Czech Context 8.2 Socio-economic and Political Context: Integration Barriers at the Macro, Meso, and Micro Levels 8.3 In-Depth Interviews: The Methodological Approach 8.4 Turning Points and Epiphanies in Migrants´ Life Trajectories 8.4.1 Turning Points and Expectations Prompting the Beginning of the Journey 8.4.2 Social Status and Professional Aspirations 8.4.3 Coping with Hostility and Discrimination: Resignation, Ignorance, Refusal or Resistance 8.5 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 9: A Long Journey of Integration 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Epiphanic Passage: In Search of Identity Boon 9.3 Structure Versus Significant Others: One `Call´, Different Journeys 9.4 War and Pandemic: The Individuation of Agency 9.5 Epiphanic Bifurcation 9.6 Identity `Boon´: Arriving at the Epiphanic Moment 9.7 Fighting for the `Kingdom´ - Waiting for the Boon 9.8 The Boon of a `Toad´ - Boon Lost 9.9 The Boon of Solidarity: Still Fighting for the Kingdom - But Not Alone Anymore! 9.10 The Boon of the `Sacred Marriage´ - The Boon of Womanhood 9.11 Liquid Agency, Liquid Integration: Concluding Remarks References