Insertion au marché du travail : les expériences des immigrants sénégalais à Montréal

Working paper

This work discusses the dynamics and implications of the insertion into the labour market of Senegalese people in Montreal. Thus, issues have been discussed on the basis of two observations which constitute the hypothesis of the research: (1) In destination places such us Québec, the established social ties between foreign workers help them supporting one another while searching for job; (2) The structures of the labour market highly influence their career mobility in such a way that their insertion in these labour markets depends more on their individual patterns (cultural, ethnic characteristics) than on their capability to work (as human capital). All operates as if everything is pre-established to direct them to some specific jobs located in the secondary labour markets. One of the most important outcomes of this work is related to the fact that, although social networks play an important role in the incorporation of the Senegalese people into labour markets, they haven’t become key factors for their integration into the labour market in Montreal yet, compared with other ethnic minorities such as the Asians. Henceforth, even if the recourse to the theory of social networks to explain the mechanisms and strategies adopted by Senegalese migrants to get jobs and remain into workplaces in Montreal has been efficient, we need to acknowledge its limitations in this case study as a global system of the insertion into the labour markets.

Authors: Wabgou, M

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: International Migration Institute
• Series: IMI Working Paper Series
• Publication date: 2008-01-01
• Paper number: 11
• Keywords: Senegalese; Montréal; labour market; immigrants