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This report provides an overview of the literature and research on the employers' role and influence in the employment of migrant workers (including refugees and asylum seekers, high and low-skilled workers, and permanent and temporary workers) in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US (Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees [IGC] Participating States). It is intended to support discussions and forums between IGC Participating States during 2012-2013, and to stimulate ongoing policy debate and research. The IGC is an informal, non-decision-making forum for intergovernmental information exchange and policy debate on issues of relevance to the management of international migratory flows.

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In this paper, we examine the contributions of dispositional goal orientation and organisational support for employee development to a range of work-related outcome variables including intentions to participate in future development, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and learning transfer. Individual-level analyses using data collected from 1278 full-time employees engaged in tertiary study indicate that perceptions of organisational support for employee development are associated with the positive transfer of tertiary learning to the job and decreased continuance commitment. Moreover, employee perceptions of a supportive work environment for development were also found to be positively related to job satisfaction, affective organisational commitment, and intentions to participate in future work-related development activities. Employee learning orientation was positively related to self-reported transfer of learning and a performance avoid orientation was associated with higher continuance commitment scores. Contrary to our expectations regression analyses provided scant support for any interaction effects. Overall, the research points to the significant independent contribution of both individual (trait goal orientation) and situational factors (perceptions of support for employee development) for the prediction of valued work-related outcomes. However, the results suggest that a positive climate for employee development is associated with a wider range of outcomes and is generally more influential than employee goal orientation.

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Purpose - The purpose of this research is to explore the interaction between organisational affordances for the development of individuals' capability, and the engagement of workers at various levels with those opportunities. Design/methodology/approach - A case study of a large New Zealand wine company, using in-depth interviews. Interviews were held with staff at all levels working in the vineyards or winery - the two core functions of the organisation. Transcripts were analysed drawing on Billet's notion of workplace affordances, Fuller and Unwin's restrictive-expansive continuum, and the concept of proactive personality. Findings - Development opportunities were differentially experienced according to level in the organisational hierarchy and function, with those higher in the organisation experiencing a more expansive environment than those in lower-level jobs. However, where individuals were proactive, a seemingly restrictive development environment was experienced as far more expansive; just as a potentially expansive environment could be experienced as restrictive by those who did not take initiative. Research limitations/implications - The conventional limitations of case study research apply. In particular, concerns over generalisability to other industries and organisational settings. Practical implications - The research highlights for managers' the important role of job design and organisational characteristics that foster expansive work environments for the promotion of employee learning and development. For employees, it highlights how proactive behaviour can provide opportunities for development in otherwise restrictive environments. Originality/value - Previous research has identified differences in workplace affordances for development across organisations. The paper extends this work by showing that such differences are also evident within organisations and are associated with hierarchical position. Moreover, the paper integrates the notion of proactive behaviour, a construct that fits well with interactionist perspectives on workplace learning that emphasise the dual and reciprocal nature of contextual influences and individual agency.

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