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General

Study Overview

Title:

Impact evaluation of skilled-worker visas for refugee talents

Study is 3ie funded:

No

Study ID:

RIDIE-STUDY-ID-66fe66c6dc35c

Initial Registration Date:

10/03/2024

Last Update Date:

08/23/2024

Study Status:

Ongoing

Abstract:

Despite acute demand for their skills, millions of skilled refugees are denied the right to relocate and to work in high-income countries. At the same time, they are barred from employment in their host country. Our study will assess the impact of a skilled-worker visa program designed to match refugees with high-skilled jobs in high-income countries. Refugees considered for these jobs will be surveyed every six months for 24 months, and the survey data will be combined with rich administrative data from the program. Using difference-in-differences methods for staggered treatment, we will compare the outcomes for those who successfully secured a job and those who were at the final interview stage but were not selected. We will assess impacts on the refugees, their spouse, and their oldest child. Outcomes of interest include labor market indicators, living standards, psychosocial wellbeing, access to education, health, banking, and remittance flows

Registration Citation:

Categories:

Other

Additional Keywords:

Migration, Skilled refugees, Skilled Labour, Job Matching, Talent Beyond Boundaries

Secondary ID Number(s):

Principal Investigator(s)

Name of First PI:

Olivier Sterck

Affiliation:

University of Antwerp

Name of Second PI:

Jean-Francois Maystadt

Affiliation:

UCLouvain

Research Partner

Name of Partner Institution:

Talent Beyond Boundaries

Type of Organization:

NGO-international

Location:

United Kingdom

Intervention

Intervention Overview

Intervention:

Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB), a global non-profit organisation, is the first organisation in the world to focus on refugee labour mobility as a complementary solution to traditional humanitarian resettlement. They connect skilled refugees with companies in need of their skills, and work with partners to help to facilitate the recruitment, migration, and settlement processes. TBB works directly with governments, immigration lawyers, and employers to obtain skilled-worker visas, and overcome administrative barriers that refugees may face. TBB also facilitates their social integration in partnership with employers and local communities, and partners with other organisations to support settlement. According to the World Bank (2023), the closer migrants' skills align with the demands of the destination labor market, the greater the benefits for both the destination economies, the migrants and their relatives. In the lens of this match and motive framework (World Bank, 2023), TBB offers the possibility to transform “refugees with a weak match” into “economic migrants with a strong match”. Globally, TBB has assisted over 770 displaced people in in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America to secure jobs with over 300 employers in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the US, and the UK. Key sectors include healthcare, skilled trades, and information technology. Overall, TBB and partners have provided durable solutions for more than 1,800 people through labour mobility programs (including dependents of selected candidates) and ambitions to assist over 15,000 displaced individuals by 2027.

Theory of Change:

See uploaded PAP

Multiple Treatment Arms Evaluated?

No

Implementing Agency

Name of Organization:

Talent Beyond Boundaries

Type of Organization:

NGO (International)

Program Funder

Name of Organization:

https://www.talentbeyondboundaries.org/financial-accountability?

Type of Organization:

Foreign or Multilateral Aid Agency

Intervention Timing

Intervention or Program Started at time of Registration?

Yes

Start Date:

03/04/2024

End Date:

Evaluation Method

Evaluation Method Overview

Primary (or First) Evaluation Method:

Difference in difference/fixed effects

Other (not Listed) Method:

Additional Evaluation Method (If Any):

Other (not Listed) Method:

Method Details

Details of Evaluation Approach:

This study will examine the impact of this skilled-worker visa programme on the outcomes of refugee workers and their families. The research team is working with TBB to develop a robust data collection system that can be used to study the dynamic impacts of skilled-worker visas for refugees. The research protocol builds on the selection process already used by TBB.  The process is “employer-led”, meaning that first an employer provides TBB with a job description for a job opportunity that they are recruiting for. For each job opportunity, TBB preselects about 10 candidates from a large database of more than 114,000 skilled refugees (the so-called Talent Catalog) and sends their CVs to the employer. Between five and seven candidates are then interviewed by the prospective employer and one or more candidates are selected per vacancy.

Outcomes (Endpoints):

See PAP.

Unit of Analysis:

Individual

Hypotheses:

See above

Unit of Intervention or Assignment:

Individual

Number of Clusters in Sample:

See PAP for explanation

Number of Individuals in Sample:

2800

Size of Treatment, Control, or Comparison Subsamples:

Treatment: 784 Control group 1: 812 Control group 2: 1,204

Supplementary Files

Other Documents:

Data

Outcomes Data

Description:

Online survey

Data Already Collected?

No

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Approval Process:

Approval Status:

Treatment Assignment Data

Participation or Assignment Information:

Yes

Description:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Approval Process:

Approval Status:

Data Analysis

Data Analysis Status:

Study Materials

Upload Study Materials:

Registration Category

Registration Category:

Prospective, Category 1: Data for measuring impacts have not been collected

Completion

Completion Overview

Intervention Completion Date:

Data Collection Completion Date:

Unit of Analysis:

Clusters in Final Sample:

Total Observations in Final Sample:

Size of Treatment, Control, or Comparison Subsamples:

Findings

Preliminary Report:

Preliminary Report URL:

Summary of Findings:

Paper:

Paper Summary:

Paper Citation:

Data Availability

Data Availability (Primary Data):

Date of Data Availability:

Data URL or Contact:

Access procedure:

Other Materials

Survey:

Survey Instrument Links or Contact:

Program Files:

Program Files Links or Contact:

External Link:

External Link Description:

Description of Changes:

Study Stopped

Date:

Reason: