Workforce & Vocational Training

Immigrant workers are expected to play a key role in helping U.S. and other advanced economies weather the historic reshaping of their workforces as the baby boom retires. With a significant share of foreign-born workers at the bottom of the skill spectrum, the limited response of the workforce system to the needs of low-skilled immigrant workers is a pressing issue, raising the need for more workforce, vocational, and language training. Access to such programs is also key for mid- and high-skilled migrants who face difficulties in obtaining recognition for their foreign qualifications and work experience.

Recent Activity

Reports October 2018 Tech Jobs for Refugees: Assessing the Potential of Coding Schools for Refugee Integration in Germany By Ben Mason	Reports October 2018 Jobs in 2028: How Will Changing Labor Markets Affect Immigrant Integration in Europe? By Meghan Benton and Liam Patuzzi
Reports May 2018 Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion Conference Report: Maintaining Momentum and Creating Lasting Change By Liam Patuzzi and Alexandra Embiricos	Articles February 27, 2018 Newcomers in the North: Labor Market Integration of Refugees in Northern Europe By Patrick Joyce
Reports February 2018 Mainstreaming 2.0: How Europe’s Education Systems Can Boost Migrant Inclusion By Aliyyah Ahad and Meghan Benton	Policy Briefs December 2017 New Opportunities? ESSA and Its Implications for Dual Language Learners and ECEC Workforce Development By Delia Pompa, Maki Park and Michael Fix
Reports August 2017 Quality for Whom? Supporting Diverse Children and Workers in Early Childhood Quality Rating and Improvement Systems By Julie Sugarman and Maki Park	Reports March 2017 Rebuilding after Crisis: Embedding Refugee Integration in Migration Management Systems (Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Meghan Benton and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan

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Policy Briefs August 2015 DACA at the Three-Year Mark: High Pace of Renewals, But Processing Difficulties Evident By Angelo Mathay and Margie McHugh	Reports April 2015 Immigrant and Refugee Workers in the Early Childhood Field: Taking a Closer Look By Maki Park, Margie McHugh, Jeanne Batalova and Jie Zong
Reports March 2015 Building Skills in North and Central America: Barriers and Policy Options toward Harmonizing Qualifications in Nursing By Victoria Rietig and Allison Squires	Reports March 2015 A Profile of Immigrants in Houston, the Nation's Most Diverse Metropolitan Area By Randy Capps, Michael Fix and Chiamaka Nwosu
Policy Briefs February 2015 Improving Migrants' Labour Market Integration in Europe from the Outset: A Cooperative Approach to Predeparture Measures By Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper	Reports February 2015 Through an Immigrant Lens: PIAAC Assessment of the Competencies of Adults in the United States By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
Reports January 2015 Mentoring Practices in Europe and North America: Strategies for Improving Immigrants' Employment Outcomes By Milica Petrovic	Reports January 2015 Lessons from the Local Level: DACA's Implementation and Impact on Education and Training Success By Sarah Hooker, Margie McHugh and Angelo Mathay

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Video, Audio

September 20, 2010

Still an Hourglass?: Immigrant Workers in Middle-Skilled Jobs

This important MPI report challenges the conventional wisdom about the immigrant workforce, using a sophisticated new method of analysis that permits deeper examination of how workers – immigrant and native-born – fare by economic sector, the skill level of their jobs, and educational attainment.

Recent Activity

Reports

October 2018

Tech Jobs for Refugees: Assessing the Potential of Coding Schools for Refugee Integration in Germany

Faced with an aging workforce and growing skill shortages in the IT sector, some German policymakers and industry experts have seized on the idea that recently arrived refugees could be a natural fit for careers in tech. This report examines the case for training refugees for IT jobs and explores the variety of coding schools that have cropped up in Germany to help newcomers succeed in the field.

Reports

October 2018

Jobs in 2028: How Will Changing Labor Markets Affect Immigrant Integration in Europe?

European labor markets are poised to change significantly in the coming years as technological advancements and other forces reshape the world of work. While these developments will affect all workers, they have particular implications for immigrant integration. This report breaks down the factors driving change and explores promising policy innovations to help societies better prepare for it.

Reports

May 2018

Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion Conference Report: Maintaining Momentum and Creating Lasting Change

Fostering the social and economic inclusion of refugees has long been the domain of governments and NGOs. In the wake of the 2015–16 European migration and refugee crisis, however, new actors have emerged and taken on important roles in integrating newcomers. This report describes key discussions and takeaways from an MPI Europe conference on these developments.

Articles

February 27, 2018

Newcomers in the North: Labor Market Integration of Refugees in Northern Europe

After receiving more than 2 million asylum seekers in 2015-16, European countries are turning to the task of integrating the newcomers, including getting refugees into work. This article explores labor market integration of refugees in five Northern European countries—Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden—drawing key lessons for today from the experiences of earlier groups of humanitarian arrivals.

Reports

February 2018

Mainstreaming 2.0: How Europe’s Education Systems Can Boost Migrant Inclusion

Rising numbers of young immigrants and refugees entering European schools following the 2015–16 migration crisis strained system capacity and injected new urgency into debates about how to support diverse learners and their families. This report examines the challenges facing European education systems and identifies key lessons to improve migrant inclusion in schools and integration more broadly.

Policy Briefs

December 2017

New Opportunities? ESSA and Its Implications for Dual Language Learners and ECEC Workforce Development

Enactment of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015 introduced opportunities to use federal funds to strengthen the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce as a means of better meeting the needs of the growing and increasingly diverse young child population.

Reports

August 2017

Quality for Whom? Supporting Diverse Children and Workers in Early Childhood Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

For children in U.S. homes where a language other than English is spoken, early childhood programs that are responsive to their needs can be key to later academic success. But as states refine their Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to assess such programs, immigrant early childhood workers with in-demand language and cultural skills may be left behind. This report examines the challenges these workers face and promising practices to serve diverse communities.

Reports

March 2017

Rebuilding after Crisis: Embedding Refugee Integration in Migration Management Systems (Council Statement)

This Transatlantic Council Statement explores the integration questions that the recent refugee and migration crisis in Europe has brought to the fore and their effect on broader governance structures for managing migration. As the immediate pressures have abated, policymakers have refocused their energies on preventing the next crisis and ensuring that newcomers—and the communities in which they settle—have the tools to thrive.

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