Rethinking the Role of Volunteering in the Labor Market Inclusion of Migrants
Bontenbal, I., Calo, F., Montgomery, T., & Baglioni, S. (2024). Rethinking the Role of Volunteering in the Labor Market Inclusion of Migrants. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 53(1), 107-126. https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640231162352
Published in
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector QuarterlyDate
2024Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023
In this article, we critically investigate the role that volunteering can have in the labor market inclusion of migrants. We consider how volunteering can both enhance and hinder inclusion through a comparison of two different contexts: Finland and the United Kingdom, where both welfare state and migration regimes are differently shaped. We also question whether volunteering to gain work experience can be defined as “volunteering” or whether it corresponds more with a definition of unpaid labor. Our research is based on 104 interviews with migrants (including refugees and asylum seekers) from various nationalities. We find that volunteering is used in both countries as a way to gain work experience, in the absence of opportunities to enter regular employment. However, volunteering rarely directly leads to employment even though it may facilitate it indirectly and, thus, risks trapping migrants in a vicious cycle that does not always lead to labor market inclusion.
Publisher
SAGE PublicationsISSN Search the Publication Forum
0899-7640Keywords
Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/182944533
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Related funder(s)
European CommissionFunding program(s)
RIA Research and Innovation Action, H2020
The content of the publication reflects only the author’s view. The funder is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Additional information about funding
The research was funded by the Horizon 2020 SIRIUS Project (reference: 770515).License
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