Migration for Achievement: The Life Strategies of Skilled IT Migrants from Ukraine in Australia

Oleinikova, O

Migration for Achievement: The Life Strategies of Skilled IT Migrants from Ukraine in Australia

Oleinikova, O

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Central and Eastern European Migration Review, 2021, 9, (2), pp. 53-70
Issue Date:: 2021-01-25

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Oleinikova, O https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0538-6462
dc.date.accessioned	2021-01-28T12:13:58Z
dc.date.available	2021-01-28T12:13:58Z
dc.date.issued	2021-01-25
dc.identifier.citation	Central and Eastern European Migration Review, 2021, 9, (2), pp. 53-70
dc.identifier.issn	2300-1682
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/145638
dc.description.abstract	Based on 25 interviews with high-skilled migrants, this article examines the migration of IT professionals from Ukraine in Australia. Their migration experience – identified as ‘migration for achievement’ – is examined in three ways. First, the article sets out the structural context for migration and the formation of the achievement life strategy: (1) the emergence and growth of the IT industry in Ukraine, in combination with (2) shifts in Australian migration policy triggered by the growth of the innovation economy and demand for highly skilled migrants. Second, it examines migration decision-making and the individual motivations, values, aims and agency of migrants. Third, the article explores how achievement life strategies are recreated or transformed after migration by looking into the migrants’ adaptation, occupational outcomes, language and national identity, future plans and aspirations. The narratives of the ‘achievement migrants’ in Australia form a story of well-integrated members of Australian society and active agents of social and economic life. Given their capacity to successfully maintain their social and economic status after migration, along with their positive contributions to Australian society in terms of social cohesion, innovation and economic production, this group can be considered a ‘brain-gain’ for Australia.
dc.language	en
dc.relation.ispartof	Central and Eastern European Migration Review
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.17467/ceemr.2020.12
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
dc.title	Migration for Achievement: The Life Strategies of Skilled IT Migrants from Ukraine in Australia
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	9
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Social and Political Sciences Program
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2021-01-28T12:13:03Z
pubs.issue	2
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	9
utslib.citation.issue	2

Abstract:

Based on 25 interviews with high-skilled migrants, this article examines the migration of IT professionals from Ukraine in Australia. Their migration experience – identified as ‘migration for achievement’ – is examined in three ways. First, the article sets out the structural context for migration and the formation of the achievement life strategy: (1) the emergence and growth of the IT industry in Ukraine, in combination with (2) shifts in Australian migration policy triggered by the growth of the innovation economy and demand for highly skilled migrants. Second, it examines migration decision-making and the individual motivations, values, aims and agency of migrants. Third, the article explores how achievement life strategies are recreated or transformed after migration by looking into the migrants’ adaptation, occupational outcomes, language and national identity, future plans and aspirations. The narratives of the ‘achievement migrants’ in Australia form a story of well-integrated members of Australian society and active agents of social and economic life. Given their capacity to successfully maintain their social and economic status after migration, along with their positive contributions to Australian society in terms of social cohesion, innovation and economic production, this group can be considered a ‘brain-gain’ for Australia.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/145638