1. 1 Labour market integration of immigrants and their children Education-related findings from OECD country studies…and open issues Thomas Liebig Non-Member Economies and International Migration Division Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD Paris, 13 October 2008

2. 2 r Country reviews for ten OECD countries („Jobs for immigrants“ (Vol. 1 and 2)) r Taking a human capital perspective: l How do the skills and experience of immigrants compare with those of the native-born? l Are the skills of immigrants « equivalent » to those of the native-born who have the same formal qualification levels – and does this matter? l What means are available to immigrants to « transmit » / « communicate » their skills and experience to employers? r Second generation l Growing presence in the labour market in many OECD countries l Expectance of outcomes that are at least similar to those of the children of natives with the same socio-economic background “B enchmark ” for labour market integration r Focus on country of birth (of migrants and their parents) rather than nationality r Employment rate as the key integration indicator The OECD reviews on the labour market integration of immigrants and their children

3. 3 Differences in education levels can only explain part of the gaps in employment rates of immigrants Percentage points differences in employment rates between foreign- and native-born and the impact of the qualification structure, 15-64 years old, 2005/2006

4. 4 Employment/population ratios by qualification level in Belgium, 15-64, women, 2001 Foreign qualifications acquired in non-OECD countries are largely discounted on the labour market The discount is partly attributable to a lack of mastery of the host-country language and to non-equivalence of degrees

5. 5 The second generation is largely overrepresented among the low-qualified… Percent low-educated among immigrants, second generation, and children of natives 20-29 year old and not in education, by gender

6. 6 …but a large gap in the employment rates remains even after accounting for this Gaps in the employment/population ratios between children of natives and the second generation before and after controlling for differences in educational attainment, 20-29 years old and not in education, by gender

7. 7 The reasons for the difficult labour market situation for the children of immigrants “across the board” are difficult to ascertain r Lack of knowledge about labour market functioning? r (Other) information asymmetries? r (Statistical) discrimination? r Growing evidence that employers are looking for signs of integration  Naturalised migrants earn more  Immigrants who changed their name also earn more r Lack of networks?

8. 8 The role of education for differences in labour market outcomes vis-à-vis children of natives is not always clear-cut r Employment rates of the second generation increase with education level, but generally not to the same extent as for the children of natives r Relatively good outcomes for the high-educated in NL, BE, FR r Relatively good outcomes for the low-educated in DK, DE, NO r Apprenticeship-type education can be particular effective in integrating children of immigrants into the labour market (e.g. DE, NL) – but this is not always the case (e.g. DK) r There is some evidence that education has a stronger impact on the labour market performance of second generation women => What are the reasons for the observed differences?

9. 9 Some further open issues r How can education policies contribute to integrate children and their parents when the latter have education levels well below what is perceived as the “minimum” for the domestic population? r Is a high concentration of children of immigrants per se connected with less favourable outcomes or are other factors at play? How do such factors interact, and how can possible disadvantages resulting from these be overcome? r What are crucial ages for intervention? r How can (elements of) vocational education contribute to a better labour market integration of the children of immigrants?