A friend recommended me to apply for this job : The Effects of Personal Networks on Occupational Attainment of Immigrants

Transcription

1 A friend recommended me to apply for this job : The Effects of Personal Networks on Occupational Attainment of Immigrants Akhlaq Ahmad Department of Social Research University of Helsinki akhlaq.ahmad@helsinki.=i

2 Aims of the Presentation to suggest that: while immigrants' ethnically dominated social networks lubricate their recruitment, they also trap them into low-status occupations and prohibit occupational attainment the exit from low-status jobs is often hard to find, despite their educational credentials, accumulation in locally gained human capital and length of residence the structure and nature of social relationships, not just lack of personal qualifications, crucially affect immigrants' labour-market performance

3 Data 40 semi-structured interviews, avg. time 3 ½ hrs, snowball sampling Pakistani & Indian immigrants, Helsinki metropolitan area total jobs 166, of which 120 (72%) obtained via social contacts of 120, 65% in the common & 35% in the ethnic job market total no. of jobs/case 1-15, median 4.00 duration of a job years, median 1.00 total job career years, median 5.88 length of residence 2-33 years, median Level of education basic education 12% secondary education 33% university education, professional degrees 55% Age at the time of obtaining the job = 36% = 50% = 9% over 45 = 5%

4 Sectoral distribution of jobs obtained through network assistance Job sector Restaurant and catering Cleaning IT, engineering Construction Warehouse-related work Miscellaneous N % Total

5 The correspondence between the occupational prestige of the contact and the job acquired by the informant in the informants' first jobs, % (Usable cases 33) Contact's job prestige Informant's job prestige High Medium Low Total N High Medium Low Total Note: Seven cases were excluded in which the informants had only one job

6 The correspondence between the occupational prestige of the contact and the job acquired by the informant in the informants' current/last jobs, % (Usable cases 22) Contact's job prestige Informant's job prestige High Medium Low Total N High Medium Low Total Note: The average time gap between first and current/last job was eight years.

7 The correspondence between the occupational prestige of the contact and the job acquired by the informant in the informants' current/last jobs, % (Usable cases 22) Contact's job prestige Informant's job prestige High Medium Low Total N High Medium Low Total Note: The average time gap between first and current/last job was eight years. Over 40% with university education and professional degrees

8 The correspondence between the occupational prestige of the contact and the job acquired by the informant in the remaining 65 jobs (Usable cases 20) Occupational prestige matched % N In at least one job 10 2 In 67% to 90% of jobs 20 4 In all jobs Total

9 Reliance explored in various areas of life: finding work borrowing money borrowing expensive items (e.g., a car) or smaller items (e.g., kitchen utensils) moving house finding lodgings bureaucratic tasks (e.g., correspondence with authorities) Other issues included: with whom they like to spend their leisure time engage in recreational activities share political, social and religious views discuss work/business-related problems talk about children/family-related problems, future plans etc. from whom they seek emotional support in times of adversity who might influence them in making crucial decisions in life, and who they might similarly influence

10 The occupational prestige of the five close social ties on which the informants relied for various types of assistance, % Job prestige High Medium Low Total N * First close tie Second close tie Third close tie Fourth close tie Fifth close tie Total * The total does not correspond to 40, since some informants did not report a particular close tie. 80% ethnic ties

11 The ethnicity and occupational prestige of the five close social ties on which the informants relied for various types of assistance, % Ethnicity of the social tie Job prestige High Medium Low Total Finnish Ethnic Total N Note: The row-wise total may not correspond to 100 because of rounding error.

12 Since many of my friends were working in the restaurant sector, they were also looking for jobs for me in the same area. But once I had entered this area, I didn't have any time to think about or explore any other field, even though I had [university] education and three years of previous experience in a large technical firm. (An informant with a university degree) My friend's friend helped me get this cleaning job. [...] I told my friend that I was looking for work and asked if he could help me. He asked a Pakistani friend of his who was working in a cleaning company if it was possible for me to get work there. [ ] I called my friend s friend the next day. He spoke with his boss about the matter. He set up an appointment with the employer and then took me to meet him. (An informant with a university degree)

13 I was fairly satisfied with this [first restaurant] job, which I found with the help of one of my friends. There were many reasons [to be satisfied]. First of all, the job gave me a secure start from the beginning in a new country where I found things to be quite different from my own country, and where the local language felt like Hebrew to me. The job brought certainty and economic independence to my life. Apart from this crucial economic aspect, it gave me a platform from where I was able to learn and explore Finnish culture and interact with Finnish people. Yes, I'm still working [as a restaurant waiter for the past 12 years]. Perhaps I have got used to this work or maybe I cannot find any other work. I can't say. [ ] But now I have plans to open my own restaurant together with one [Pakistani] friend. (An informant with a BA degree and technical diploma)

14 I didn't have a job for several months, and I was quite worried. I didn't want to resort to social welfare. This was the last thing I wanted. One of my friends asked an acquaintance of his, who was working as a cleaner in a company, about a job possibility. This acquaintance took me to meet the cleaning manager. That's how I got this job. I worked for three years in this X company. Later, I changed my job.. Now I'm working in X [cleaning] company. (An informant with a university degree) A friend recommended me to apply for this job [with this restaurant chain]. Well, there was nothing else available and I knew that my education was not going to be of much use. So I went with him to the company's recruitment office and we filled in the application form there. I'm still working there after more than seven years. (An informant with a university degree)

15 Conclusions While social networks acted as important sources of job information and support, they funnelled immigrants into low-status occupations Low-prestige jobs often do not lead to high-skilled jobs, as they do not train people in the skills required in the primary sector Ethnically diverse networks are important not only for indispensable cultural knowledge and language skills but also for better occupational mobility Tackling discrimination is important, as it restricts immigrants scope of better opportunities as well as results in the formation of ethnically dominated lowprestige networks