The migration of Indian knowledge workers to Canada: a structuration theory perspective

Abstract

With the emergence of the knowledge economy and concomitant changes in the areas of technology and globalization of economy and labor market, the migration of knowledge workers and particularly Indian knowledge workers has received a lot of attention. However they are different from traditional migration flows because of the choice of migration destinations, widespread demand for such workers and diminished importance of push factors. Such knowledge workers are highly adaptable and their skills readily transferable to any region of the world. Canada has to firmly establish itself as a foremost destination for migrant knowledge workers and market its attractiveness, with its safe multi-ethnic urban regions, quality of life and strong and stable economy. This is essential in obtaining the desired migrant stocks and flows, but also in securing the highest quality and most desirable migrant knowledge workers. There is considerable discussion regarding the validity and completeness of contemporary migration theories. The analysis presented in the thesis shows the advantages of the use of structuration theory in international migration and extends the claims made by Goss and Lindquist on the validity of use of structuration theory for multi level analysis in the area of international migration. The study highlights the role of structure and agency through interviews of skilled Indian migrants to Canada and subsequent analysis of the data collected. In addition recent studies by the Canadian government, academic research and reports by organizations such as the World Bank have been leveraged to develop the structuration analysis. The study proposes policy changes such as highlighting the attractiveness of Canada as a migration destination at a micro level; develop a robust mechanism for recognizing migrant qualifications, wider deployment of fast track procedures for immigration processing and recognition of migration of semi-finished human capital as a means for meeting labor market needs.