This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lerner, M. Articles by Menahem, G. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Decredentialization and Recredentialization: The Role of Governmental Intervention in Enhancing Occupational Status of Russian Immigrants in Israel in the 1990s

Gila Menahem,

Tel Aviv University

This article addresses the question of the impact of governmental retraining programs on immigrants’ occupational incorporation. It proposes that immigrants’ loss of occupational status relates to decredentialization resulting from their foreign credentials’ being devalued and proposes viewing participation in governmental retraining programs as a process of recredentialization. The findings indicate the important role government can play in enhancing the occupational status of immigrants through recredentialization. Nine hundred ten immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel in the 1990s were interviewed in 1992 and again in 1995 to examine the effect of their participation in retraining programs on occupational integration and improving earnings. The effects were studied for salaried immigrants. The findings are discussed in light of the institutional perspective and the theories of human capital, screening theory, and credentialism.

Key Words: governmental support • immigrant integration • deskilling • upskilling • credentialization • decredentialization • recredentialization

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?