Skills and Competencies of Immigrant-Origin Young Adults in North America and Europe

• In Event: What the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies Says About the Effects of Social Background on Adult Skills and Social Mobility

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the literacy and numeracy skills of young adults by immigrant generation in and across five large immigrant-receiving destinations (U.S., Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom).

Perspective(s)
The existing international and U.S. literature consistently finds that intergenerational prospects and progress of children and young adults from immigrant families in educational and labor market outcomes vary significantly by their race and ethnicity, gender, family background as well as country characteristics. We will focus on the skills of young adults between ages 16 and 34 from immigrant families for two reasons: 1) they account for a growing number and share of the total 16-34 young adults in each of the study countries and 2) these young adults are either in the labor force pipeline or recently entered the workforce.

Methods
Our largely descriptive paper includes descriptive statistics and crosstabs examining the relationships between the skills of young adults from immigrant and native families and their individual and family characteristics in as well as across the five study countries. All differences described in the paper will be tested for statistical significance.

Data source
Our data are from the 2012 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), which is the most recent direct assessment of the adults’ literacy and numeracy skills undertaken in 24 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Coupled with a rich background questionnaire that provides information on detailed socio-demographic, family background, education, language, workforce, and economic characteristics, PIAAC offers a unique opportunity to examine cross-nationally the level of work-preparedness and skills that young adults from immigrant families (i.e, both born abroad and born in the study country to an immigrant parent, also known as the first and second generations, respectively) have compared to those of young adults from native families (i.e., the third generation).

Results/Conclusions
Our preliminary results indicate that the literacy and numeracy skills of the second generation were substantially higher than those of the first and nearly identical to those of third generation in the U.S. In contrast, the second generation young adults in Canada were outperforming not only the first but also the third generation in terms of literacy and numeracy skills, whereas for the most part both the first and the second generation in the three European countries lagged their third-generation counterparts. We also find important variations in young adults’ competencies by gender, education, parental education, and home language.

Scholarly significance
Most of the second generation in OECD countries are still fairly young; many are enrolled in secondary and postsecondary educational systems, but will be joining the labor market in the near future. The skills and competencies of immigrant-origin young adults in the U.S. and other OECD countries will have a direct impact on national economic productivity and social cohesion. In turn, the need for knowledge about skills of young workers has become increasingly important for researchers, policy makers, and educators seeking to provide effective education, language, and workforce training for this population.

Author

• Jeanne Batalova, Migration Policy Institute