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This report analyzes the evolution of Chinese emigration since the end of the 1970s to the present day. Concerns about 'brain drain' in the late 1980s have now given way to a variety of government efforts to connect with China's diaspora members without necessarily expecting their permanent return. These include targeted recruitment programs for skilled diaspora members in academia and the science and technology sectors, online portals to engage with overseas experts, and temporary exchange programs and special visas for second-generation diaspora members.

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Skilled migration brings widely acknowledged economic benefits for both destination countries and migrants themselves. The impact of skilled emigration on countries of origin has been the subject of much more debate. Despite a growing academic consensus that origin countries can benefit from emigration and the circulation of skills, it remains a challenge to enable the full exploitation of this potential. Equally formidable is the task of ensuring that migration does not waste the skills of those who move, and that migrants can use skills to their full potential - both at destination and if they return to their country of origin. In recent decades, numerous policy measures and independent initiatives have sought to address these challenges. The initiatives can be broadly grouped into four categories: developing skills in countries of origin before departure; applying those skills productively at destination; reintegrating returnees into origin-country labor markets; and enabling diaspora members to contribute to the skills base in countries of origin. While these initiatives vary enormously in their design, scale, and purpose, some common themes emerge.

This report provides an overview of policy measures and initiatives in this area, focusing on projects that develop skills and human capital. The transferability of skills is at the heart of most of the initiatives, which - if successful - promise to reduce the waste of human capital that often accompanies migration. Merely certifying skills is not enough, as most of these projects recognize. To make full use of their training migrants also need local connections, work experience, and mentoring. Entrepreneurs, similarly, can benefit from assistance with regulatory and logistical requirements, not just financial support. These needs exist not just among migrants moving for the first time, but also among those who would like to return to their country of origin.

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As EU Member States begin to embark on a new set of legal migration pilot projects with countries in Africa, they would do well to assess the mixed results of earlier bilateral partnerships. Arrangements that offer would-be migrants temporary training or work placements in the destination country hold promise: They encourage skills development useful upon return while also helping employers fill gaps and potentially serving as an alternative to illegal migration. This report reviews the limitations of past pilot projects involving countries in Europe, Africa, and the Asia Pacific, with an eye to making future ones more successful.

The author offers a range of recommendations for how policymakers should consider labor-market needs and development goals in order to implement effective legal migration partnerships. This study recommends that policymakers prioritize deals with countries that are willing and able to manage migration and their labor markets. It also suggests the focus should be on labor-market sectors at origin and destination that have complementary supply and need for workers. And these pilot projects should ensure the provision of high-quality technical job and language training that both meet employer needs and build essential skills that can benefit the labor migrants in the long run.

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Canada is the second largest resettlement country globally and has a diverse resettlement program offering a range of pathways through which refugees arrive in the country. This report provides an overview of the scope and determinants of the labour market integration outcomes of refugees who arrived in Canada in the recent past. It highlights lessons that can be drawn from the Canadian experience to benefit policymakers and service providers in Canada and elsewhere as they work to foster positive labour market outcomes for refugees and other immigrants. The analysis is based largely on two major surveys of refugees and immigrants conducted during the last decade that focused on various aspects of integration, including economic and labour market integration.

After providing an overview of the key components and features of the Canadian refugee resettlement system, the report identifies the primary characteristics of recent refugee arrivals in Canada. It then examines available data on the labour market integration and outcomes of refugees and the factors that may explain these outcomes. The report concludes by offering recommendations on ways that policymakers could improve Canada's integration efforts.

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Refugee protection - both asylum in the country of first refuge and resettlement to a third country - is a humanitarian endeavor, distinct from economic or labor migration. As victims of persecution, under international law refugees are entitled to specific protections, above all from forcible return, and the humanitarian nature of refugee protection is fundamental. However, what is less clear is the degree to which the right to move freely both within and beyond a country of first asylum can or should be encompassed within the international community's understanding of what refugee protection involves. Over the years, there has been growing international recognition that continued movement and migration often play an important role in shaping refugees' lives after their initial flight, even without the formal legal channels to do so. The economic restrictions placed on refugees in many countries - including prohibitions on the right to work and limitations on movement away from camps - lead many individuals to pursue irregular secondary migration after being granted refugee status, in search of economic opportunity and sometimes even basic physical security. In light of this reality, pursuing labor mobility policies for refugees may make sense for both political and humanitarian reasons, offering the chance to enhance refugee protection while reducing the many costs associated with long-term refugee crises.

This report considers the extent to which labor migration is being used - or could be used in the future - to strengthen the international refugee protection regime and facilitate durable solutions for more refugees. The report also outlines two possible ways that policymakers could facilitate refugees' freedom of movement: initiatives that take advantage of existing migration pathways and regional freedom-of-movement protocols, and development of temporary and permanent refugee-focused labor migration programs.

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The rapid surge of asylum seekers and other migrants entering Europe during 2015, many with Germany as their prized destination, has led German policymakers to focus on longer-term integration issues. A central question for policymakers has been how to integrate the hundreds of thousands of newcomers into society and the German labor market. Impending skills shortages and an aging population have encouraged many in Germany to see the refugee crisis as an opportunity, and consider refugees a resource. Despite this attitude and the creation of countless programs and initiatives to help new arrivals integrate into the labor market, refugees and asylum seekers face real hurdles getting jobs at their skill level. Among the barriers: most newcomers speak little or no German and language courses are vastly oversubscribed and often prioritize groups who stand a good chance of getting protection, leaving many others to wait till their claims have been decided. Also, many newcomers lack the skills and qualifications in demand in the local labor market, and Germany's prestigious vocational education and training (VET) system - often described as the ticket to skilled work - is not easy for these new arrivals to penetrate. This report analyzes the barriers to the successful labor market integration of recent arrivals to Germany, and maps new initiatives and approaches to resolving these challenges.

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The 2015 introduction of Express Entry - a points-based, two-stage system for screening prospective economic immigrants - was a major step forward for the Canadian immigration system. It aimed to resolve pressing challenges, including mounting application backlogs and a need to modernize selection processes in light of technological advances. In the process, however, Express Entry has also changed how Canadians engage with their country's immigration system. For example, while adjustments to the criteria used to select immigrants were previously scrutinized by the media and the public, this is now done regularly and administratively, attracting little public attention. The system's adaptability is one of its main strengths, but as the author of this report notes, its sheer complexity challenges policymakers to find new ways to engage the public on a topic of crucial importance to the country's economic future. This report explores how and why the Express Entry system was designed, its impact on economic immigration to Canada, and a number of persistent challenges. These include re-examining how the system weighs prospective immigrants' real versus theoretical skills, and the gaps between the economic outcomes of principal applicants and their dependents.

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The purpose of this report is to understand how effectively the workforce development and vocational training infrastructure in the United Kingdom (UK) accommodates the needs of immigrant workers. It examines how the UK workforce development system is structured (specifically looking at England), and how well the various programs serve the needs of diverse populations, including immigrants. The report begins with an overview of the vocational education and training (VET) system in England, the role of key actors within the system, and developments in skills policy. The report discusses the funding and delivery of training, eligibility conditions, and barriers to accessing training, responses to diversity, and specific barriers for immigrants. In doing so, it seeks to examine whether the workforce development system effectively equips underutilized workers to meet labor market demands.

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While immigrant workers in Germany face relatively few formal barriers to access training, the country's highly institutionalized and regulated workforce development system creates a number of informal barriers, in part as a result of the central role of employers and occupational associations in the system. This report analyzes whether publicly-financed consultative institutions, employers, and professional associations are prepared to meet the needs of existing and future immigrant populations. More specifically, it evaluates the accessibility of training programs to immigrants, and the success of existing mainstream and targeted programs in serving the skill needs of diverse populations and preparing them to meet labour market demands.

The report begins by reviewing the structure and regulation of mainstream training programs, with a focus on further training for adults beyond the initial vocational education and training (VET) provided by the German apprenticeship system. Second, it explains the differing educational backgrounds and training needs of the various waves of immigrants that have arrived in Germany since World War II. Then, it outlines programs that specifically target immigrant groups and assesses how well further training addresses the specific situation of immigrants, or more broadly, of people with a migration background, including the second generation. Finally, the report analyzes the extent to which immigrants access further training programs, and sets out policy recommendations for reducing the gap in further training participation between people with and without a migration background.

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Attracting skilled foreign workers has become a high priority for countries seeking to be economically competitive, but their methods for doing so vary. Since entering office, President Trump has called for the United States to adopt a more 'merit-based' system, looking to Canada and Australia as potential models. In demand-driven immigrant selection systems, including the one in place the United States, employers choose the workers they need to fill existing vacancies, and the government screens them to ensure they are eligible for admission, as well as to prevent fraud and enforce security protocols. By contrast, countries such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand use points-based systems in which governments take the lead, selecting among prospective immigrants based on labor and human-capital considerations, including professional experience, education, holding a job offer, and destination-country language proficiency.

This report compares these two models - going beyond their day-to-day operation to examine the political and philosophical foundations that underpin each. Crucially, after years of development, many selection systems incorporate aspects of both models; as the authors note, 'most employer-led and points-based systems are now somewhere nearer the mid-point along the continuum between labor-market and human-capital considerations'. Looking ahead, the report offers recommendations for policymakers charged with managing immigrant selection systems in a time of labor-market and demographic change. These include ensuring that selection systems are flexible and responsive to changing conditions, studying newcomers' integration outcomes to inform future admissions criteria, and finding ways to not only attract but also retain skilled foreign workers.

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