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.

This open access book discusses how, and to what extent, the legal and institutional regimes and the socio-cultural environments of a range of European countries (the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the UK), in the framework of EU laws and policies, have a beneficial or negative impact on the effective capacity of these countries to integrate migrants, refugees and asylum seekers into their labour markets. The analysis builds on the understanding of socio-cultural, institutional and legal factors as “barriers” or “enablers”; elements that may facilitate or obstruct the integration processes. The book examines the two dimensions of integration being access to the labour market (which, translated into a rights language means the right to work) with its corollaries (recognition of qualifications, vocational training, etc.), and non-discriminatory working conditions (which, translated into a rights language means right to both formal and substantial equality) and its corollaries of benefits and duties deriving from joining the labour market. It thereby offers a novel approach to labour market integration and migration/asylum issues given its focus on legal aspects, which includes most recent policy changes and legal decisions (including litigation cases). The robust, evidence-based and comparative research illustrated in the book provides academics and students, but also practitioners and policy makers, with up to date knowledge that will likely impact positively on policy changes needed to better address integration conundrums.

Pt. 1. Concepts and methodologies -- pt. 2. State policies in relation to migrants and refugees -- pt. 3. Structural discrimination and strategies of response.

This book sheds light on the improvements and downfalls over time in two of the five indicators of refugee integration after the post-Arab Spring migration/refugee crisis, namely education and employment. Within the context of the need for a common policy response in the field of migration governance, it includes case studies from first-line immigration countries of the Mediterranean region. The book also reflects on the situation in Central Europe, Scandinavia, and Africa and considers the perspectives of different actors, including migration and integration governance stakeholders, NGOs, governments, refugees, and others. Covering a wide geographical spectrum and a diverse spectrum of integration experiences and models, it reveals collaboration between different actors and how they operated simultaneously on regional, national, and international levels in order to achieve the inclusion of refugees in the host communities. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of migration studies, social policy, public policy, international relations, European studies, law, economics, and sociology.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. The motivations of migrants for travelling to Europe vary, and the quality of the processes involved in their settlement and contribution to social and economic development are inextricably linked to their prospects of finding and sustaining good-quality work. This book explores the labour market integration of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers across seven European countries: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. Using empirical data from the Horizon2020 SIRIUS Project, it investigates how legal, political, social and personal circumstances combine to determine the work trajectory for migrants who choose Europe as their home.

This open access book discusses how, and to what extent, the legal and institutional regimes and the socio-cultural environments of a range of European countries (the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the UK), in the framework of EU laws and policies, have a beneficial or negative impact on the effective capacity of these countries to integrate migrants, refugees and asylum seekers into their labour markets. The analysis builds on the understanding of socio-cultural, institutional and legal factors as "barriers" or "enablers"; elements that may facilitate or obstruct the integration processes. The book examines the two dimensions of integration being access to the labour market (which, translated into a rights language means the right to work) with its corollaries (recognition of qualifications, vocational training, etc.), and non-discriminatory working conditions (which, translated into a rights language means right to both formal and substantial equality) and its corollaries of benefits and duties deriving from joining the labour market. It thereby offers a novel approach to labour market integration and migration/asylum issues given its focus on legal aspects, which includes most recent policy changes and legal decisions (including litigation cases). The robust, evidence-based and comparative research illustrated in the book provides academics and students, but also practitioners and policy makers, with updated knowledge that will likely impact positively on policy changes needed to better address integration conundrums.

Labour market integration of refugees represents a key challenge for policy makers and has emerged as one of the most dividing topics in the public debate. Pressured countries in Europe have to come up with fair and transparent ways to place asylum seekers among the European states as well as to different regions within their national borders. In this paper, I highlight unsurprising, yet unintended consequences of following the most transparent placement mechanism, that is, random assignment. Thereby, Switzerland with its strong subnational entities and clearly defined language borders can function as a laboratory for European policy. The natural experiment of placing refugees randomly across different language regions causes substantially higher probabilities of finding employment if refugees are placed in regions where the lingua franca matches their individual language skills compared to alien language regions. In addition, the findings suggest that a language match is as good as (costly) language courses. While random assignment of refugees may be desirable for other reasons, it is detrimental for the economic integration process of these immigrants. Thereby, the study provides new empirical evidence for a positive language proficiency effect. The findings also highlight a large space for improving existing immigration policy or replace random assignment with a more fine-grained approach, in particular for a European allocation mechanism looming on the horizon.