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Highly skilled migration in the urban Arctic: a Norwegian case study on skilled migrant labour market integration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2012

Trine Medby Fossland*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Political Science and Community Planning, 9037University of Tromsø, Norway (trine.fossland@uit.no)

Abstract

Arctic Norway is a region with a shortage of highly skilled professionals and international expertise, in many work sectors. Fast growing cites attract people from other regions and also high skilled migrants. It is a paradox that skilled migrants often fail to get qualified work in the local labour market. To understand this and to capture the complexity of labour market participation, this article draws on interviews with recruitment agencies and highly skilled migrants, attending a recruitment programme initiated by the ‘Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry in Norway’. This paper draws on recent literature on highly skilled migration and analyses the complex and relational sides of labour market integration for skilled migrants in an urban Arctic town.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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