Skills on the Move : Rethinking the Relationship Between Human Capital and Immigrant Economic Mobility

Studies of immigrant labor market incorporation in the unregulated sector of the US economy either assume that immigrant workers are trapped in low-wage jobs because of low human capital, or paint a picture of blocked mobility because of exploitation and discrimination. In this paper we offer a thir...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Work and occupations. - 1983. - 38(2011), 2 vom: 01. Mai, Seite 149-178
1. Verfasser: Hagan, Jacqueline (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Lowe, Nichola, Quingla, Christian
Format: Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2011
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Work and occupations
Schlagworte:Journal Article economic mobility human capital immigrant labor markets job jumping reskilling skills transferences
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Studies of immigrant labor market incorporation in the unregulated sector of the US economy either assume that immigrant workers are trapped in low-wage jobs because of low human capital, or paint a picture of blocked mobility because of exploitation and discrimination. In this paper we offer a third sociological alternative to understand processes of occupational mobility and skill learning. Drawing on work histories of 111 immigrant construction workers, we find that many immigrants are skilled, having come to their jobs with technical skill sets acquired in their home communities and their previous U.S. jobs. We further find that these less-educated immigrants, who rank low on traditional human capital attributes but high on work experience may circumvent exploitation and build mobility pathways through skill transference, on- the- job reskilling, and brincando (job jumping)
Beschreibung:Date Revised 21.10.2021
published: Print
Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE
ISSN:0730-8884