Pursuing post-secondary education in the host country and the occupational attainment of highly educated immigrants to Canada |
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| Authors: | Maria Adamuti-Trache |
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| Institution: | Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, College of Education and Health Professions, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA |
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| Abstract: | This paper examines the occupational attainment of highly educated adult immigrants by employing a secondary analysis of three waves of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada that provide data on immigrant arrivals in 2000–2001. Occupational attainment is described in terms of matching immigrants’ pre-migration occupation with the main occupation reported 4?years since arrival. An occupational match typology based on skill level and skill type is developed and examined in the study in relation to socio-demographic factors, human capital characteristics, cultural factors and dispositional and situational factors. The primary focus is on the relationship between occupational matching and choice of post-secondary education (PSE) (including non-participation) pathways in Canada. Study findings show that occupational match rates are relatively low. However, notable differences are obtained for highly educated immigrants choosing to take further education in Canada, particularly at university level, which supports the argument that investment in host country PSE is a strategy to improve employment and occupational outcomes. |
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| Keywords: | highly educated immigrants occupational matching post-secondary education skill underutilisation |
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