Exploring Connections within Documented-non-European Immigrants' Social Networks and the Influence of the Connections in Labour Market Integration, Lund-Sweden

Abstract: This thesis explores the labour integration of documented-non-European immigrants into the Swedish labour market through their immigrants' networks. Most documented-non-European immigrants face labour integration challenges due to the lack of specific labour skills. In Sweden's case, most jobs on the labor market are highly-skilled jobs that require that the immigrant acquires or possesses some level of Swedish labour skills such as the Swedish language and work experience. Through these networks, immigrants can enhance these labour skills to facilitate the job search process. However, immigrants’ networks are not static but embedded with connections with different resources to address labor integration needs. Consequently, this research investigates the types of connections within immigrants' networks, their usefulness, the obstacles they may feature, and how different documented-non-European immigrants affiliate and use these connections to solve labor integration needs. Social capital theory and concepts such as bonding, bridging, and linking social capital are discussed to examine these connections' relevance in labour integration. These concepts served as analytical themes for the field data analysis. Based on a qualitative research approach, I interviewed ten purposely selected documented-non-European immigrants to investigate their experiences and perceptions regarding their networks of connections and the influence of these connections in the labour integration process. Interviewees mentioned that strong and weak ties, the Swedish Public Employment Service, and technology-mediated channels were connections used to address labour integration needs. However, affiliations to and prioritizing these networks of connections in solving labour integration needs from study findings were based on the immigrant's status, such as being highly-educated or less- educated. Though these networks of connections, according to the interviewees, accrued some benefits in addressing labour integration needs, they also encountered some limitations.