Commercial migration intermediaries and the segmentation of skilled migrant employment

Abstract

Like all migration, skilled migration depends on intermediary operators providing services that assist the mobility, labour market entry and integration of migrant workers. However, within what is a relatively disparate body of literature on migrant work, there is often either a complete neglect, or only fragmented acknowledgement and analysis of how migration intermediaries influence migrants’ access to destination labour markets. By re-engaging with the literature on skilled migration, the authors highlight the importance of new theorizing and empirical investigations into the labour market implications of intermediary activities, which at present remain poorly understood. Most particularly, this article highlights how migration intermediaries shape recruitment, selection and placement, thereby in part determining labour market outcomes for particular groups of migrant workers.