Global Skills and Talent Initiative
MPI's cross-programmatic Global Skills and Talent Initiative examines the role of immigration in addressing labor shortages and evolving workforce needs in a dynamic period of economic shifts, demographic pressures, and technological advances.
Anchored in the premise that immigration policy must be part of a broader skills and talent strategy that considers economic, social, and national-interest imperatives, the Initiative has a particular focus on employment-based immigration and the supports that can help immigrants apply their full range of educational and professional skills.
Also collected here is work drawing on more than two decades of MPI research that focuses on 1) human capital and skills; 2) immigrant selection systems; 3) labor market integration; 4) the future of work; 5) migration partnerships; and 6) harnessing the benefits of immigration.
Featured
The Immigration Debate America Needs—and Is Not Having
Immigration is central to America’s economic future, yet debate fixates on border crises and policy failures instead of how a modern legal…
How Can Labour Migration Policies Help Tackle Europe’s Looming Skills Crisis?
With three-quarters of EU employers struggling to find workers, coordinated labour migration reforms offer Europe a pragmatic way to narrow its…
Showing 21–30 of 45 results
Labour Shortages during the Pandemic and Beyond: What role can immigration policy play?
As European countries seek to revive their economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, acute labor shortages in a variety of sectors risk stopping the recovery in its tracks. This commentary explores why these shortages are emerging and how immigration policy can form one part of the broader strategy to meet labor market needs.
Taking the Long View: Options for inclusive post-pandemic labor markets
Migrants in Europe bore outsized COVID-19 job losses. Entrepreneurship, social economy pathways, and employment services reform can support a more inclusive recovery.
Achieving the 'Partnership' in the European Union’s Talent Partnerships
The European Commission marks a new chapter in EU cooperation on migration with third countries with the launch of its Talent Partnerships, which seek to combine mobility schemes for work or training with investments in third countries in related areas, such as vocational education and training. The success of these partnerships will hinge on the degree of support they can win from Member States, the private sector, and third countries.
Leaving Money on the Table: The Persistence of Brain Waste among College-Educated Immigrants
As of 2019, 2 million college-educated immigrants were underemployed in the United States, with race, English proficiency, and legal status the key predictors of this brain waste.
Rethinking the U.S. Legal Immigration System: A Policy Road Map
Last updated in 1990, the U.S. legal immigration system needs deep reforms so employment and family pathways better match today’s economic and demographic realities.
Navigating the Future of Work: The Role of Immigrant-Origin Workers in the Changing U.S. Economy
Immigrant-origin workers drove 83 percent of U.S. labor force growth from 2010 to 2018 and face similar automation and job-decline risks as their native-born peers.
As U.S. Health-Care System Buckles under Pandemic, Immigrant & Refugee Professionals Could Represent a Critical Resource
In a time of critical shortages of U.S. health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, retired doctors are being called back to work and medical students are graduating on a fast track. There is another important pool that could be tapped: Immigrants and refugees who have college degrees in health fields but are working in low-skilled jobs or out of work. MPI estimates 263,000 immigrants are experiencing skill underutilization and could be a valuable resource.
A Race Against the Clock: Meeting Seasonal Labor Needs in the Age of COVID-19
As governments have reacted to the coronavirus pandemic by closing borders, seasonal workers have been kept out, raising a pressing question: who is going to produce the food amid agricultural labor shortages? Policymakers in the Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America have responded by seeking to recruit residents, lengthen stays for already present seasonal workers, and find ways to continue admitting foreign seasonal labor, as this commentary explores.
Immigration and the U.S. Labor Market: A Look Ahead
As aging and low birth rates drag on U.S. economic growth, expanding legal immigration offers a key tool to bolster the workforce, fill skill gaps, and spur entrepreneurship.
How Does Immigration Fit into the Future of the U.S. Labor Market?
Workforce aging and slowing labor force growth make a compelling case for expanding employment-based immigration as a driver of U.S. economic productivity.
