Professor Mike Danson, August 2017

1. Migration,
enterprise policy
and inclusive
communities
Language, Inclusion and
Labour Markets ,
Wednesday 23 August
Tórshavn
Professor Mike Danson
Heriot-Watt University

2. Structure
▪ Background
▪ Types of migrant and motivation for mobility
▪ Rural migration
▪ Core cities and capitals: regions, islands, remote rural
▪ Labour markets, labour processes and demand
▪ Languages and cultures
▪ Sustainable growth – services, caring, sharing, integration …
▪ Releasing and realising enterprise and entrepreneurship

3. Types of migrants: definitions
• Settlers
• Contract workers
• Professionals
• Unauthorised workers
• Asylum seekers/refugees
• Settled migrants
• Circular migrants
• Temporary migrants
• Family migrants
• Students
• Adventurers
Feminisation of migration
Age, education, history, networks, …

4. Migration and integration to
Rural/Peripheral
▪ Migration to rural and remote areas - counter depopulation
trends; contribute to the sustainability of public and private
services in rural communities
▪ New migrants - contribute to reversing population decline
through closing skills and labour shortages, as well as
reversing dependency ratios (the ratio between the tax-
bearing working population and retirees)
▪ Result - virtuous cycle where well-serviced rural areas may
be attractive to both groups: those who once left them
(diaspora) as well as migrants
▪ Integration - assimilation, integration and segregation?

5. Spectrum/continuum of integration
▪ From assimilation: absorption of minorities into a value
system that the majority perceives as shared, with
concomitant attempts to render minorities “invisible” [threats]
▪ To multiculturalism/inter-culturalism: protecting minorities
from discrimination, certain cultural traits can be protected
and even promoted. Mainstreaming existing policy and
provision processes - inclusive of minority ethnic and cultural
groups, promoting equality. Engagement of stakeholders
from different ethnic and cultural groups, promoting
interaction [opportunities]

6. Core and periphery: theories and
practices
▪ Core cities and capitals: regions, islands, remote rural
As in most societies and circumstances, international migration
tends to be into cities and towns. 120 of Europe’s major
cities- not only are cities very attractive to migrants because
they offer job opportunities but also because they promise a
better quality of life, and family and friendship networks
(Eurocities, 2007). With the free movement of workers within
the European Union, and [EU] enlargement of 2004, there
have been significant flows of workers to the growth poles of
the continent – the cities and capitals.
▪ But many to and from new places of migration

7. Labour markets: jobs, skills and
contributions
▪ Process – fish processing in the Faroe Islands?
▪ Skills shortages, labour shortages,
▪ Hebrides/Scotland but:
marked downshift in skill levels of workers coming under [Canadian
temporary foreign workers] Program - these lower-skilled workers,
many of whom lack proficiency in either of Canada’s official
languages, are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. ..
list of major areas where they experience challenges, particularly
those who are lower-skilled, namely, inaccurate information prior to
departure; illegal recruitment fees; work permits and job mobility
restrictions; employment standards; integration and discrimination in
the field of language, housing and basic services; and family
separation.

8. Scottish in-migrants: typical?
▪ Three-quarters: hospitality and catering (27%), agriculture (20%),
food processing (14%), and administration & business services
[many in above] (13%).
▪ Underemployment - two-thirds have higher education but in
semi-skilled or unskilled jobs; under-utilisation of professional
skills/talents/experiences
▪ Flexible/Secondary labour, labour intensive jobs, no career
prospects.
▪ Perpetuating the long-term and endemic underperformance of
particular sectors. Staff turnover high, training at a low level if any,
capital investment low, profits and productivity often marginal: a
vicious cycle of low rewards for enterprise and employee

9. Skills, education, progression?
▪ loss of occupational standing with their first employment
▪ impossibility of transferring human capital into context of new
country (=> underuse of human resources)
▪ immigrants outside largest urban centres (especially in small and
rural areas) able to learn an official language more quickly [why?]
▪ higher levels of English language skills and years of education =>
labour market success, years of [local] education more highly
valued than those experienced abroad
▪ issues with recognition of foreign qualifications
▪ professional immigrants : history of employment in low skilled
jobs, mainly in the service sector

10. competition for jobs? Brexit?
Migrants competing with locals?
▪ “the motivation of employers in recruiting migrant workers is
explained in terms of an under-supply of workers locally
[because of] an under-supply of certain (nontechnical, added)
skills locally and because they feel that migrant workers are
more flexible and productive”.
▪ “employers recruit and value migrants for ‘positive traits’ they
bring to the workplace such as a strong work ethic, reliable
attendance and flexibility. That is, migrant workers appear to
demonstrate characteristics that some employers report that
certain school leavers and indigenous employees lack”
▪ Shetland/Faroes: labour shortages; Hebrides/Faroes: change
labour process

11. Discrimination, access to support
▪ [Austria] - third of immigrants trapped in poverty ... due
primarily to social exclusion by the host society. ..
discrimination by Austrian residents is the cause of exclusion,
rather than a failure of migrants themselves... ideology has
established and sustained the public debate on ethnicity and
cultural barriers to integration and this has been
camouflaging the true causes of social inequality.
▪ Lack of English skills and limited awareness of relevant
agencies have impeded progression opportunities and
facilitated discrimination and exploitation, especially in large
communities [Kinlochleven]

12. Fresh Talent Initiative
▪ Attraction and retention of graduate migrants
▪ North America – few barriers anyway; India & China students
– prolonged stay
▪ Rather limited, relatively few attracted to rural Scotland. But
instrumental in creating a climate of welcome and attraction
for those from outwith the EU.
▪ Inherent barriers to achieving economies of scale and scope
in the facilities and capacities for diverse communities in rural
and peripheral areas: difficulties in delivering a genuinely
multicultural Scotland

13. Asylum seekers and refugees
▪ Dispersal and attraction success - need proactively
supported with local initiatives to assist the vulnerable and to
encourage host communities to welcome them / break down
barriers [Shetland cf. Kinlochleven]
▪ Failure of certain key markets (property, health and
education markets especially), to adjust as quickly as labour
markets to the freedom of movement of workers and capital
within customs unions

14. Diaspora / returning migrants
▪ Truncated labour markets and inferior career opportunities in
the periphery of UK - real constraint on national better
economic performance overall
▪ Economic health - country attractive to long-term migrants,
meet criteria for growth and contributes to the population
challenge.
▪ Attraction and welcoming of migrants - key component in
improving economic performance and social cohesion

15. Languages and cultures: threats
and opportunities
▪ Welcoming communities - aid processes of integration into
labour markets
▪ Easier if communities have a history as a destination for
immigrants; the (perceived) impact of immigrants on the
local economy and public services; and decisions of local
leadership with regard to welcoming new arrivals
▪ rapid increase in the immigrant population can exert
pressure on services already overburdened, additional
resources rarely made available. Tensions associated with
differences (for example, linguistic, cultural and religious)
may also be magnified in smaller, historically mono-ethnic
communities

16. ‘Mother tongue’ - impacts
▪ Incoming female workers/partners - threat to local language?
▪ Mixed impacts
▪ Leadership, investment in resources
▪ Potential to use for economic and social benefit.

17. Local strategies
▪ Canada: multitude of strategies aimed at mobilizing local
communities and promoting inter-cultural familiarisation,
involving different governmental levels (federal, provincial,
regional and municipal)
▪ Outer Hebrides/Shetland: local policy discourse and wider
public opinion extremely favourable to the reception of
different groups of immigrants
▪ Kinlochleven: mixed, lack of communication from agencies;
deprived and depressed economy – cheap/low demand
housing, education, etc.

18. Sustainable growth: resources,
human/physical/social capitals
▪ Demographic (re)balancing
▪ Adopt family structures and habits of local community
▪ Net contributions to tax, community, schools, health
▪ 2nd or 3rd generation may progress to professions/university
▪ Increase retail demand => reduce fixed costs => lower prices
▪ Types of migrants: return home/repatriate incomes;
bring/start family; move on; returning locals: churn rather
than drain; diasporas
▪ Acculturation, integration, …?

19. Enterprise and entrepreneurship
▪ Establish businesses
▪ Change labour process, ‘encourage’ enterprise and
investment
▪ Vision and strategy
▪ Realising all benefits, while managing the costs

20. Summary
▪ Successes – revitalisation and sustainable development of
economy, population and community
▪ Challenges – integration, realising individual and community
aspirations
▪ Invest – empower – enable : progression towards resilience
▪ Policies and strategies – consistent, meet 4Es (effective,
efficient, economic, equity)