11. Legal Pathways for Low-Skilled Migrant Workers

In countries whose native-born workforce has become ever more educated and ever more concentrated in medium- and high-skilled industries, many low-wage jobs that cannot be outsourced or automated- such as child and elder care, agriculture, and construction – are filled by immigrants. Yet legal migration pathways are most readily available not to workers who might fill such positions, but to highly skilled professionals with a formal qualification. Where legal pathways for low-skilled migrants are too narrow to meet demand, employers and foreign-born workers alike often look to illegal migration to bridge the gap. The negotiation of a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration in 2018 represented a unique opportunity for states to take stock of what has and has not worked for low-skilled labour migration pathways in the past, as well as what might add value in the future. Among the key challenges, policymakers will need to address are the need to improve coordination between destination and origin countries, balance clarity of program design with flexibility, and weave the protection of workers’ rights and the evaluation of impact into the fabric of new initiatives.