International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 7 . According to this approach,
those migrants (or migration candidates) having pre-primary to lower secondary
education attainment (ISCED 0–2) are defined as low-skilled; those with upper to
postsecondary education (ISCED 3–4) are defined as medium-skilled, while the
highly skilled are those having attained tertiary education (ISCED 5–6).
Labour market information strategies and channels may also vary depending on the
sector and occupation in which employment is sought. This is generally observed
when the labour matching occurs without recourse to migrant recruitment. The
study involved disaggregated analysis of labour market information patterns by sector
and occupation, and tried to identify those segments of the labour market in which
migrants’ recruitment is more likely to be affected – and hampered – by informationrelated
bottlenecks. In addition, the tools and the efforts that employers are disposed
to deploy for the identification of available candidates and of legal procedures
to fill their job vacancies may differ depending on whether these vacancies are
temporary or permanent. On the supply side, the nature of the job contract sought
(permanent, temporary or seasonal) may also influence the choice of more or less
formal information strategies by prospective employees. In this respect, the study
endeavoured to shed more light on the specific labour market information issues
involved in foreign recruitment in response to the temporary need of employers.
7 There are various approaches to the definition of the skill levels of workers (and migrants). The
educational approach, based on ISCED levels, uses education and training as a proxy of skills. The
occupational approach, based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO),
refers to the nature of occupation in which the worker is employed. An empirical approach consists
of taking into account the level of wage paid to the workers. These three definitions overlap to some
extent and may be used simultaneously in the definition of the skill level of migrants adopted by
immigration law (Chaloff and Lemaître, 2009).
eXecutIve summAry – OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
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