Except brain gain and brain drainwhich are on the agenda in Greece, but also in Europe in general, a new concept is coming to dominate the European process: the brain waste immigrants, which in a loose translation could be phrased as “waste of brains». These are immigrants who are either overqualified for the positions they work in, underemployed or unemployed.
A joint investigation by Lighthouse Reports with the FT, El País and Unbias the News shows that most European countries are failing to provide good job opportunities for highly educated migrants, at a potentially significant cost to their workforce and economies.
The findings, based on data from the EU labor force survey between 2017 and 2022, show that almost half of immigrants with degrees are working in jobs for which they are overqualified, compared to less than a third of natives. Despite the widespread demand for highly skilled immigrant labor, immigrants with degrees are also unemployed at nearly twice the rate of natives.
The big cost
And that’s all he has high cost: the survey found that, on average, European immigrant graduates earn €2,000 less each year than native graduates with similar degrees and characteristics. Excluding the UK, German and Nordic economies – for which no figures are available – this amounts to €10.7bn in lost wages, or 0.12 per cent of the countries’ combined GDP.
“THE “waste of brains” of migrants is a real problem for European governments,” says Friedrich Poeschel, senior researcher at the European University Institute’s Center for Migration Policy.
“Can highly skilled migrants apply their skills and build a career, or do they become disillusioned and leave?” At worst, some end up long-term unemployed and dependent on welfare, something policymakers obviously seek to avoid. They want immigrants to cover shortages in specific professions.”
Greece is in dire straits
The research found that levels of brain waste vary widely across Europe, with Italy, Greece, Spain and Sweden performing particularly poorly.
Analysis of the situation for skilled migrants in Ireland, Portugal and Sweden offers a glimpse into how labor market outcomes differ as opportunities and barriers vary across host countries.
Teachers are just one example of the type of highly skilled workers European countries desperately need, with low pay and burnout making it difficult for many countries to recruit and retain teaching staff.
However, more than half of migrants in Europe with a teaching or education degree do not work in the sector. Almost all countries included in the survey had high levels of “brain waste» for those who had a teaching degree, especially compared to natives.
The case of Ireland
In Ireland, where nearly two-thirds of secondary schools surveyed by the Teachers’ Association of Ireland have vacancies, qualified foreign teachers face a much more difficult path to the classroom than natives with equivalent degrees. This category of immigrants is three times more likely to work in a role for which they are overqualified and at least five times less likely to work in the teaching profession.
The lack of recognition of foreign qualifications does not only affect teachers: the research found that in all subjects and in almost all countries, immigrants educated abroad had significantly worse labor market outcomes than immigrants educated in the host country.
The “miracle” of Portugal
Not all countries suffer from brain drain to the same extent. In Portugal for example, success stories for highly educated immigrants are more common than elsewhere on the continent. The survey found that in Western Europe’s poorest country, university-educated immigrants are less likely to work in menial jobs, be underemployed or unemployed than across Europe as a whole.
The relative success of Portugal it is even more pronounced compared to other southern European countries. More than half of immigrants with degrees in Spain, Italy and Greece work in jobs where they are overqualified compared to Portugal, where the 39% have a higher level of education than is typical for their profession.
There is also a lot greater parity between immigrants and native graduates in Portugal than in the rest of southern Europe. The most common jobs among immigrants with degrees in Portugal mirror those of native graduates, with teaching, nursing, engineering and finance roles topping the lists. This is in stark contrast to Spain, Italy and Greece, where migrant graduates are much more likely to be found working as cleaners and cashiers.
Portugal also stands out as a promising destination for immigrants with technical degrees. Compared to the rest of southern Europe, immigrants with degrees in science, computing and mathematics are much more likely to work in a job suitable for their qualifications and at a rate comparable to domestic graduates.
Sinem Yilmaz at the Migration Policy Group attributes this to policies that encourage global tech entrepreneurs to house their startups in the country, including favorable business regulations and residence permits for investors and entrepreneurs.
“Portugal knows how to make the most of its highly skilled migrant population and its focus on the technology industry and entrepreneurship has been an important part of its economic recovery from the financial crisis. These are sectors with flexible labor markets that can accommodate highly skilled people with different qualifications and backgrounds,” he says.
Not only do they have a plan, but they execute it and try to improve it.
Racism
Stigma and racism may further affect these immigrants. Research by Nahikari Irastorza and Pieter Bevelander from Malmö University found that regardless of educational level, the most disadvantaged immigrant groups were always “immigrants from Africa and the Middle East, most of whom enter Sweden as applicants asylum”.
The research found a similar trend in most European countries: immigrants from the so-called global south (Africa, Asia and Latin and Central America) are more affected by brain drain than those from higher-income countries. An outlier is Portugal, where immigrants from the global south – including native speakers – are less likely to be overqualified and underemployed than those from richer countries.
Portugal’s relative success in harnessing the skills of its educated migrants appears to have inspired part of the EU’s current migrant integration strategy.
Source: ot.gr
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