EVENT POSTPONED
Free Public Lecture
Skills on the Move: Deskilling, Up-skilling and Reskilling in Labour Migration
Professor Ma. Reinaruth D. Carlos
Ryukoku University, Japan
Wednesday 18 March 2020, 12pm-1pm
Room 1.20, Hunter Centre, 279-281 Great King Street, Dunedin
Migrant workers have various ways of leveraging skills in destination countries. It has been observed that many tend to take up jobs that require less or different skills than what they gained prior to migration. I cite the case of professional overseas-trained nurses (mainly from the Philippines) in Japan, Singapore and New Zealand, whose migration phenomenon has gained greater international attention because of the issues of ageing population and ‘brain waste.’
In this presentation, I explore the links between skills processes and labour migration patterns. What kinds of skills are required and how are they measured? To what extent do policy frameworks regarding skills (such as assessment and accreditation) in potential destinations influence the decision of workers on what skills they acquire prior to and during migration? How do they deal with skills mismatch between home and host countries? Here, I put special attention on deskilling, up-skilling and reskilling as inevitable processes and/or outcomes in the worker’s stepwise migration in the light of increasingly restrictive migration regulations and skills recognition/accreditation regimes, as well as the changing labour market needs particularly of highly preferred overseas destinations.
