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Highly skilled migrants in global cities (SKIM): Exploring complex pathways, motivations and experiences

At the end of the working day office workers walking on the streets of the Central Business District of Singapore

Team Members

Jérémie Molho, Maryam Lashkari, Hongxia Shan (external link) , Anna Triandafyllidou, Zhixi Zhuang

Funders

Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC-CRSH)

Description

In a rapidly evolving knowledge economy, global cities are fiercely competing to attract talent pivotal for innovation and growth. Using diverse strategies like urban marketing, new university campuses, and creative districts, cities aim to lure a diversifying profile of highly skilled migrants. These hypermobile professionals are no longer merely wealthy expats from the Global North; they now include a diverse array of talents spanning multiple professions, origins, and genders. However, this transformation in global talent mobility has exposed significant gaps in our understanding of what drives these professionals to relocate multiple times and how their experiences are shaped by these moves. Academic debates have primarily focused on the efficacy of creative city strategies but have paid less attention to the motivations involved in skilled migration decisions, as well as the vulnerabilities entailed by hypermobile lives. 

The research project seeks to understand the pathways, motivations and experiences of hypermobile skilled migrants as they navigate multiple relocations in various global cities. The project will examine the decision-making processes of these migrants, identifying key factors like quality of life, citizenship opportunities and professional growth, while tracking the evolution of their motivations throughout their life course. This project will also assess the effectiveness of global city strategies in attracting and retaining skilled migrants, with the analysis focusing on Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, Doha, Singapore and Hong Kong. Another component of this work is to investigate the role of transnational professional sectors like the urban infrastructure and design sector, digital technology industries, and the creative economy in driving and facilitating the mobility of highly skilled migrants. Finally, this project will analyze the personal and professional impacts of hypermobility on these migrant’s career progression, familial relationships and community ties, shedding light on the challenges and vulnerabilities they face.

 

Methodologies

The methodology includes five initiatives:

  1. Desk research will focus on global cities’ strategies to target hypermobile professionals.
  2. We will map the complex career trajectories of 1000 hypermobile professionals using LinkedIn.
  3. In-depth interviews will be conducted with 60 hypermobile skilled migrants across six cities, revealing their migration motivations and experiences. 
  4. Virtual focus groups will delve deeper into the benefits and challenges of hypermobility. 
  5. Lastly, digital storytelling will chronicle the journeys of 12 participants, offering insights into their lived experiences.

Project Outcomes

Forthcoming