Migrants hit the qualification ceiling

Due to the development of international conflicts, including the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the influx of migrants to the OECD is growing at an increasingly rapid pace. In 2022, 6.1 million people moved to developed countries (excluding Ukrainian refugees), this is the highest figure since 2005. Migrants, according to the organization, have been entering the labor market quite quickly in recent years, however, as a rule, they occupy positions that are low for their level of qualifications. The OECD’s attention to this problem is explained not only by political, but also by economic reasons: migrants can fill the shortage of skilled labor that the world’s largest economies are currently experiencing.

A new OECD report records a significant increase in migration flows to the organization’s countries. In 2022, the maximum number of people moved to developed countries since 2005 – 6.1 million, which is 26% more than in 2021. And this does not take into account Ukrainian refugees – those who received such status in OECD countries numbered about 4.7 million by June 2023. The largest number of those who came from Ukraine in absolute terms were received by Germany, Poland and the United States, as a percentage of the population – Estonia, Czech Republic, Lithuania. Due to the consequences of military conflicts, including the military operation of the Russian Federation, the number of migrants and refugees in the coming years will grow at an increasingly rapid pace, the OECD predicts.

A study prepared by the organization shows that finding a job for those moving to developed countries is gradually becoming easier. The average level of migrant employment (the ratio of the number of employed people to the total number) in OECD countries increased to 72.3% in 2022 from 69.9% in 2021. In 17 of 32 countries, this figure reached its maximum over the past two decades. A significant increase in the level of employment of visitors was recorded in Australia, Canada, France, the UK and the USA. The indicator reached the highest values ​​(above 80%) in the Czech Republic and Hungary. The unemployment rate (the ratio of the number of unemployed people to the number of economically active migrants) in OECD countries decreased to 7.6% in 2022 from 9.3% in 2021.

Although migrants now indeed find work quite quickly, the positions they occupy, as a rule, do not fully correspond to their level of qualifications, the OECD reminds. The same is true for the employment of refugees. It follows from the report that thanks to integration programs in certain countries (including Poland, the Czech Republic and Denmark), more than 40% of Ukrainian refugees have already found work. However, they are engaged in work that does not require high qualifications: for example, in Denmark and Lithuania, many of those who arrived work in cleaning companies, in Estonia in retail trade, and in Ireland in the transport sector, according to OECD data. Getting a job that matches your education level and actual skills is still difficult.

At the same time, the demand for specialists with medium and high qualifications in developed countries is now growing – the largest economies are counting on a return of business activity to “pre-war” levels (see Kommersant on August 31). Companies, the OECD points out, would like to hire suitable migrant candidates, but cannot always assess their competencies, including due to the fact that the system for recognizing foreign diplomas in many countries is still “imperfect.”

For some migrants, in order to get a prestigious job, it would be enough to undergo additional training or language courses, the OECD points out, clarifying that the policies of developed countries in terms of providing visitors with such opportunities free of charge are “extremely heterogeneous.” One of the main problems remains the difficulty of balancing the costs of “sharpening” the skills of migrants between the authorities and employers. The report does not propose a specific solution: it is also likely to vary depending on the policies and current needs of each individual country.

Kristina Borovikova