Adult tertiary education and migrants’ coping strategies in the German labour market

ABSTRACT Literature on returns to education and labour market outcomes has been increasingly focusing on skill missmatch with regard to migrants’ integration and adaptation processes. Researchers have studied the efficacy of official validation of prior skills as well as participation in training and vocational programmes as valid resources to expand labour possibilities in the host country. Fewer studies, however, account for the returns to adult higher education, in particular how formal credentials influence skilled-job chances and labour status. In this study, I hereby investigate the effectiveness of host country qualifications against the backdrop of miss-match and under-value of prior qualifications in the new labour market context. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel study, I compare the effects of tertiary education degrees between immigrants holding German degrees and those who only possess foreign credentials on their occupational outcomes in the local market. I find that the chances of obtaining a professional job that matches individuals’ skills as well as their occupational status are higher for those with local qualifications. This suggests that local capital in form of tertiary education pertains ‘valid’ credentials that help migrants to achieve better outcomes in new labour market contexts.