Overeducated and Over Here: Skilled EU Migrants in Britain

The UK's offer of immediate free access to A8 workers resulted in a larger-than-expected influx of A8 migrants to the UK, which caused a public backlash and heated debates over the benefits and costs of large-scale immigration. Much has been written about the political and economic impact of this influx. This book focuses instead on the complex interweaving factors affecting the work and non-work lives of skilled migrant workers in the UK working in jobs which are not commensurate with their work experience, skills and interests. The focus on the European context addresses the need for a better understanding of contemporary labour mobility within the EU. The important, though often neglected, perspective of individuals who take on work below their level forms the focus of this book. In-depth interviews analyse the lived experiences of migrant workers in the UK working in jobs which are not commensurate with their qualifications and experience."Having spent approximately half my life away from my home country, it is perhaps not surprising that I chose to examine the lives of others who made similar decisions. A culture of migration runs in the family. I have met many others who also left their home country's shores. Whether these were academics from London or labourers from Lahore, my conversations with them made me reflect on and question our life choices and experiences. Why had we decided to leave one country and move to another? Was there something different about us compared to our peers who did not make such a move?"CONTENT PDFAcknowledgementsviAbout the authorviIntroduction1Chapter 1: Clarifying the terminology5Chapter 2: Reasons for migrating29Chapter 3: The Migrants39Chapter 4: Factors influencing the migrant workers' decision to come to the UK to take up or seek work49Chapter 5: Barriers in finding work commensurate with qualifications and experience65Chapter 6: Coping with the skill- and status- underemployment71Chapter 7: Impact of nonwork and family factors on adjustment to living and working in the UK81Conclusions87Appendix 1: Interview guide109References111Index131ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bradley SAUNDERSBradley Saunders received his PhD from Loughborough University and currently works at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, KSA. He previously worked at University of Derby Online and Regent's University London. Dr Saunders' teaching and research interests include international management, labour relations, globalisation, overeducation, EU migrant workers, self-initiated expatriates, job transitions, and corporate expatriation and repatriation.CREDITS: Cover Photo: Altay Manco - Cover Design: Nihal YazganTransnational Press London | All rights reserved