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Regulated Occupations: Mobility, Qualification and Labour Market Outcomes (RECONNECT)

RECONNECT provides new knowledge on the consequences of occupational regulation for labor mobility and immigrants’ opportunity to integrate with their occupation of training.

International labor mobility is essential to modern labor markets. Employers rely on labor migrants to fill jobs at all skill levels. The matching of employees to occupations are for the most part a negotiation between the immigrant and prospective employers. For licensed occupations, however, national authorities also have a say in the matter, because the qualification requirements are enshrined in law – one needs accreditation to practice these occupations. The issue of occupational regulation is high on the policy agenda in the EU: Labor mobility improves employment at the individual level and secures access to qualified workers for crucial tasks in European countries. To achieve this, employees and employers’ need efficient and high-quality recognition of credentials.

The aim of RECONNECT is to deliver knowledge of relevance to governments’ aim to improve access to regulated occupations for skilled mobile workers, knowledge to improve re-qualification for foreign workers and labor market inclusion. 

RECONNECT has a cross-disciplinary and multi-method design. Through a historical and institutional approach, we analyze the current regulatory framework and ask what were the historical and institutional motivations behind implementation of regulations, and how has these been sharpened against international exchange agreements? Next, we use longitudinal quantitative data to investigate how occupational regulation legislation affect individual career outcomes, such as mobility decisions, and post-migration careers. Third, we circle in on employer experiences, and use survey and interview data to disclose patterns in employer’s hiring preferences, and their experiences with recruitment and training of foreign-skilled workers. Finally, we interview candidates who undergo re-qualification programs in teaching, nursing and engineering to provide longitudinal data about their experiences with the re-qualification process and subsequent labor market entry.