Research stay by Dr Silvia Annen in Canada

Dr. Annen has been employed at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) since 2007. For many years, the focus of her research has been the recognition of competencies and qualifications in the national and international context.

This subject area also includes the research project which she will conduct during her stay in Canada. The aim of the project is to identify the extent to which immigrants are able to use qualifications and competencies which they have acquired abroad during their professional activity in Canada.

Quantitative data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will be analysed. As part of a qualitative approach, case studies will also be developed using Canadian companies to analyse procedures and methods used by employers and other stakeholders when making decisions about recognition. The focus is on the two sectors of health and information technology which differ both due to the extent of regulation as well as different labour market requirements. The results are intended to provide indicators of the extent to which human capital theory and credentialism theory assumptions can be substantiated. The quantitative analyses compare immigrants with the local population in terms of the phenomenon of skill underutilisation and pay inequality.

German employers, not least due to the influx of a large number of refugees, are also increasingly having to face up to the difficulties of recruiting individuals who have qualified abroad, and of evaluating and recognising their qualifications and competencies. The results of Dr. Annen's research project may provide interesting starting points in this respect.

The BIBB wishes Dr Amen all the best and every success for her time in Canada and looks forward to the results of her research project.