Equipping Immigrant Selection Systems for a Changing World of Work
The research for this paper was commissioned by the Transatlantic Council for its 2018 meeting in Brussels devoted to the theme of “Building Migration Systems for a New Age of Economic Competitiveness.” The paper explores the implication of the changing world of work for immigrant selection systems, highlighting key challenges such as figuring out how to anticipate future labor-market needs, balancing employer demand with human-capital considerations, and building capacity for regional variation into selection processes. The authors argue for a flexible system of immigrant selection using innovative methodologies for assessing labor-market needs. They summarize the advantages and disadvantages of employer-driven selection systems, e.g. allowing immigrants to fill hiring vacancies vs. human capital-focused systems, e.g. assigning points for levels of education and host country language proficiency, acknowledging that elements of the two systems can be combined into one.
Papademetriou, D. G., Benton, M., & Hooper, K. (2019). Equipping immigrant selection systems for a changing world of work [Council Statement]. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/immigrant-selection-systems-changing-world-work