Insights on Canadian Society
Persistent overqualification among immigrants and non-immigrants

by Louis Cornelissen and Martin Turcotte

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Introduction

Among various definitions of overqualification, a worker can be considered overqualified when their level of education is higher than what is typically required for the position they hold.

Overqualified workers earn lower salaries and have lower life satisfaction compared with workers who hold a position that corresponds to their level of education.^Note Collectively, overqualification can raise questions about the ability of the educational system to help people improve their lives. Economically, it can also represent an underutilization of human resources. For all these reasons, overqualification has become a widespread topic of research and a growing concern for decision makers. This is particularly true because, in general, recent decades have seen an increase in overqualification rates.^Note

As past studies have shown, overqualification rates are generally higher among young workers, women and graduates in certain fields (e.g., humanities or arts rather than education or applied sciences) or certain levels of education (e.g., bachelor’s degrees rather than graduate degrees).^Note Overqualification is also more common among highly educated immigrants, who are of particular interest in this study.

Overqualification among immigrants remains relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of job losses, the pandemic has had a greater impact on immigrants, particularly recent immigrants.^Note The latter, who often work in sectors that have been hardest hit by the pandemic (retail, accommodation and food services), are among the subgroups most likely to be overqualified. Immigrants, many of whom are overqualified, are also overrepresented among workers in health service support sectors, which have been particularly exposed to the risk of contracting COVID-19.^Note Lastly, while the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed difficulties in recruiting skilled workers in some key areas, immigrants are overrepresented among adults who have studied health but are not working in the health sector.^Note

Various characteristics have been identified as factors associated with the risk of overqualification among immigrants: recent immigration, location of study, official language proficiency and literacy skills, membership in certain groups designated as visible minorities, pre-migration work experience, admission category, and the characteristics of the programs through which immigrants are selected.^Note The effect of several—but not all—of these factors is likely associated with a particular difficulty for immigrants to have their degrees recognized by employers. Recent immigrants also seem to be more affected by variations in the supply and demand of university-educated workers, and they seem to be particularly impacted by competition with other highly qualified recent immigrants.^Note

Most studies on overqualification—in particular those that focus on immigrants—use cross-sectional data (i.e., they assess whether individuals are overqualified at a specific single point in time). While these studies are informative in many ways, they do not assess the persistent or temporary nature of overqualification. Overqualification probably would not be an important public policy issue if it were only a temporary or transitional situation for most workers. However, overqualification that lasts for several years could be particularly harmful for the individuals who experience it. Some have suggested that prolonged overqualification, and not applying what has been learned for a long period of time, could eventually result in a loss of skills acquired during studies.^Note Others have suggested that experiencing periods of overqualification could have a persistent effect on career paths, and those affected could be at greater risk later in their careers of experiencing periods of unemployment or overqualification, and of receiving lower wages.^Note

Some longitudinal studies on overqualification and its persistence have been conducted in Canada. Most have examined overqualification in the context of labour force entry. For example, some studies have analyzed persistent overqualification among new Canadian graduates in the years following graduation, while others have examined access to skilled employment by recent immigrants in the first years after being admitted to Canada.^Note Other studies have examined persistent overqualification, but generally do not allow for an in-depth analysis of factors related to overqualification among immigrants.^Note

By integrating data from the 2006 and 2016 censuses, this study adds to and expands this portrait by examining the issue of long-term persistence of overqualification among immigrants and non-immigrants (see the “Data sources, methods and definitions” textbox). The study is limited to those with a bachelor’s degree or higher and defines overqualification as a situation in which individuals with a university degree hold jobs that require no more than a high school education. It differs from previous studies in that it examines persistent overqualification based on many factors that have a significant impact for immigrants (location of study, place of birth, recent admission and age at the time of admission, official language proficiency, and admission category). It also examines the impact of other general factors (age, sex, region of residence, highest level of educational attainment and field of study) related to persistent overqualification, particularly by analyzing whether the impact of these factors differs among immigrants and non-immigrants.

Persistent overqualification is not the predominant form of overqualification, but immigrants are three times more likely to experience it than non-immigrants

In 2016, 15.5% of Canadian workers aged 25 to 59 with at least a bachelor’s degree were overqualified. As found in previous studies, immigrants were more likely to be overqualified than non-immigrants (24% and 11%, respectively).^Note

This study of persistent overqualification examines trajectories related to overqualification (referred to as “overqualification trajectories”). By combining information regarding the jobs and characteristics of the same workers in 2006 and 2016, there are four possible trajectories (Table 1).



Among all workers aged 25 to 49 in 2006 who had a bachelor’s degree or higher,^Note 1 in 5 (19.6%) experienced overqualification at least once during the two years observed (80.4% never experienced overqualification). Immigrants were generally more likely to experience overqualification than non-immigrants: 29.3% experienced overqualification at least once in the two reference years, compared with 16.1% of non-immigrants. Moreover, women were generally more likely than men to experience overqualification. However, the difference was more pronounced among immigrants: 33.8% of immigrant women experienced overqualification at least once, compared with 25.3% of immigrant men.

Persistent overqualification was not the predominant form of overqualification. Only 5.3% of workers were overqualified in both 2006 and 2016. However, the relative gap between immigrants and non-immigrants was even more pronounced with respect to persistent overqualification: 10.1% of immigrants were overqualified in both periods, compared with 3.6% of non-immigrants.

Overall, women (5.6%) were slightly more likely than men (5.0%) to have experienced persistent overqualification. This gap was even greater among immigrants: 11.6% of immigrant women experienced persistent overqualification, compared with 8.7% of their male counterparts.

In short, compared with non-immigrants, immigrants were about twice as likely to be overqualified at some point (see Table A1), but almost three times more likely to be persistently overqualified. This later result was even more pronounced among immigrant women.

More recent immigrants and older immigrants are more likely to have experienced persistent overqualification

By cross-tabulating age, immigration status and, as applicable, immigration periods, the effects of age and age at time of admission on overqualification can be simultaneously considered for immigrants (Table 2). The risk of having experienced persistent overqualification increased with age and recentness of immigration (the people with the least risk in this area were non-immigrants). The workers who experienced such a trajectory most often were immigrants over the age of 40 who had arrived in the country in the decade before the 2006 Census (1997 to 2006).



Overall, more recent immigrants were more likely to have experienced overqualification at least once in 2006 or 2016. Among immigrants who arrived earlier (i.e., those who arrived before 1997), as well as among non-immigrants, workers aged 25 to 29 in 2006 were proportionally more likely to be overqualified at some point.

More recent immigrants and younger immigrants (particularly those aged 25 to 29 in 2006) were more likely to escape overqualification. This result is consistent with the idea that overqualification can sometimes be a transitional situation that is part of integrating into the workforce after initially entering the labour force or completing education (for young people), or after arriving in the country (for immigrants). Thus, although young people were more likely to have experienced overqualification at least once, they were also less likely to have experienced persistent overqualification. Conversely, the older the workers, the less likely they were to experience overqualification, but their overqualification was more likely to be persistent.

Trajectories that lead out of overqualification are important and could be studied in their own right. However, the next sections focus on the main topic of this study, factors associated with persistent overqualification among immigrants and non-immigrants.

Immigrants who obtained their degree outside Canada are most likely to experience persistent overqualification

The greater probability of persistent overqualification among immigrants appears to be closely linked to the location of study (understood in this study as the place where the highest certificate, diploma or degree was obtained). Immigrants who completed their highest level of educational attainment in Canada had trajectories relatively similar to those of non-immigrants who also graduated from a Canadian institution (Chart 1). However, immigrants who graduated from a Canadian institution were less likely to experience overqualification in both 2006 and 2016 than their counterparts who graduated outside Canada (4.4% and 14.3% respectively). This suggests that it is not so much immigrant status as the location of study (in Canada or outside Canada) that is at the core of the differences between immigrants and people born in Canada. It should be noted that the majority of immigrants in the study population had graduated outside Canada (56%).

Location of study, educational attainment and field of study are important determining factors in overqualification trajectories

To disentangle the respective effects of various factors in overqualification trajectories, logistic regression models were produced to calculate adjusted predicted probabilities of experiencing persistent overqualification (see the “Data sources, methods and definitions” textbox). Table 3 presents the results of the model for all immigrant and non-immigrant workers.



The probability of experiencing persistent overqualification over a period of 10 years varies significantly based on the highest level of educational attainment. There is a clear gradient that extends from bachelor’s degree holders to doctoral degree holders, with each increase in educational attainment being associated with a reduction in the probability of persistent overqualification. Continuing education and obtaining a higher degree between 2006 and 2016 (see the “Data sources, methods and definitions” textbox) was also generally associated with a smaller probability of persistent overqualification.

The field of study was also an important factor in the probability of persistent overqualification. Education, mathematics, computer and information sciences, architecture, engineering and related technologies, and health and related fields graduates were less likely to experience persistent overqualification (approximately 3%). Graduates in humanities programs stood out for their particularly high probability of being overqualified in both 2006 and 2016 (11.4%). Graduates of programs in visual and performing arts and communications technology, in social and behavioural sciences and law, and in agriculture, natural resources and conservation also demonstrated, although to a lesser degree, above-average probabilities of persistent overqualification (predicted probabilities were about 8%).

The location of study was as important, if not more important, than the field of study in determining the likelihood of persistent overqualification. When other factors were taken into account, persistent overqualification was less likely not only among graduates from Canada (3.8%), but also among those who graduated elsewhere in North America (5.1%), Oceania (6.2%), Western Europe (5.7%) and Northern Europe (3.7%). Graduates from other regions had higher rates of persistent overqualification. Those who graduated in Southern Asia (18.2%) and Southeast Asia (20.4%) together made up a separate class, with about one-fifth having been overqualified in both 2006 and 2016.

Further analyses^Note showed that, among immigrants who studied in Southeast Asia, graduates from the Philippines stood out with high predicted probabilities of persistent overqualification (20.9%). Among immigrants who graduated in Southern Asia, the highest probabilities of persistent overqualification were observed among workers who completed their studies in Bangladesh (26.0%), followed by those who completed their studies in India (18.2%), Pakistan (18.2%) and the rest of the region (13.2%). Despite the considerable differences observed from country to country, the probabilities of overqualification for each country in these regions were still systematically higher than those for other regions of the world. Therefore, these two regions appear to stand out on a strictly regional scale because of specific dynamics that result in graduates being significantly more likely to experience persistent overqualification.

Even when they graduated in Canada, workers born in Southern and Southeast Asia were at a greater risk of persistent overqualification

The risk of persistent overqualification is reduced for immigrants who completed their studies in Canada. However, does this protection extend to all immigrants, regardless of their place of origin? Chart 2 shows the probabilities of persistent overqualification by region of birth and completion of education in Canada or outside Canada (once the other factors are taken into account).^Note Overall, workers who graduated in Canada, regardless of their region of origin, were significantly less likely to have experienced persistent overqualification than those who studied outside Canada.

However, although completing studies in Canada greatly reduces the gaps in overqualification based on place of birth, it does not completely eliminate them. Canadian graduates from Southern Asia (6.3%) and Southeast Asia (5.5%) were particularly likely to have experienced persistent overqualification. In comparison, for example, the probabilities of persistent overqualification were less than 3% among workers from Oceania, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa who graduated in Canada.

For the majority of regions of origin, workers who graduated outside Canada (i.e., in their region of birth, in the vast majority of cases) were significantly more at risk of overqualification, which is consistent with the results presented earlier. However, there are some exceptions: workers born in North America (United States), Western or Northern Europe, and Oceania—even when they studied outside Canada—experienced rates of persistent overqualification similar to those of their counterparts who graduated in Canada.

How can regional variations in the probabilities of overqualification be explained? They likely stem, in part, from differences—documented in the literature—in the ability of international graduates to have their degrees recognized by employers. It is known that a significant proportion of immigrants struggle to have their degrees recognized by employers, professional associations or educational institutions—to the point that some graduates do not even try to obtain recognition—and that recognition rates vary by country of origin.^Note The concept of recognition must be understood here in the broad sense, both as formal equivalency certification by certain institutions, and as the value that employers place on the degree when assessing candidates for a position. There is also a tendency to assume that graduates’ skills are the same, regardless of where they graduated, or that they are entirely transferable from country to country, which is not necessarily the case.^Note

Some of the differences that exist between regions of graduation may also be because of migration dynamics specific to certain regions, or even certain countries. For instance, the fact that immigrants from Northern Europe are at a slightly higher risk of overqualification when they graduated in Canada rather than abroad (see Chart 2) is likely because some graduates from those regions come to Canada because they have a skilled position waiting for them. The distinctive cases of immigrants from Southeast and Southern Asia may also be because of particular migration dynamics. Previous studies have already highlighted some features of immigration from the Philippines, including the country’s emigration policies—which support the emigration of university graduates— a strong presence in certain immigration programs linked to labour supply for the care sector (such as caregiving programs), and specific difficulties in obtaining degree recognition.^Note Less attention has been paid to the equally specific case of university graduates from Southern Asia.

The level of familiarity with Canada’s official languages influences the probability of persistent overqualification among immigrants

Among immigrants, there is a gradient in the probability of overqualification that follows the level of familiarity to Canada’s official languages (i.e., English and French) (see the “Data sources, methods and definitions” textbox): the greater the level of familiarity with the official languages, the lower the probability of persistent overqualification. Among non-immigrants, this effect is also seen among people who speak a non-official language most often at home, but the gaps are much smaller.

With respect to certain regions of birth, the level of familiarity with Canada’s official languages seems to explain, in part, higher risks of persistent overqualification (Eastern and Southern Europe, Central and South America, Asia) (see Chart 3). For other regions, the level of familiarity with official languages made little or no difference, because of the greater tendency for immigrants from those regions (North America, Western and Northern Europe, Caribbean and Bermuda, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania) to be familiar with Canada’s official languages.

A graduate university degree is less protective against persistent overqualification for immigrants compared with non-immigrants

The impact of the highest level of educational attainment on the risk of overqualification for immigrants and non-immigrants varied based on the location of study (see Table 4). Among non-immigrants (the vast majority of whom graduated in Canada) and among immigrants who graduated in Canada, the predicted probabilities of experiencing persistent overqualification were slightly higher than average for those whose highest level of educational attainment was a bachelor’s degree. These probabilities of persistent overqualification are reduced considerably and become marginal among graduates with degrees above the bachelor’s level.

However, among immigrants who graduated outside Canada, there was a less pronounced gradient in the probabilities of persistent overqualification, with graduate degree holders also being at a relatively higher risk. For example, the probability of persistent overqualification among immigrants with a master’s degree obtained outside Canada (without further studies) was 9.5%, compared with 1.1% among their immigrant counterparts who obtained the same degree in Canada. The probability of persistent overqualification among those with graduate degrees (master’s, doctorate) thus seemed to be distinctly greater among immigrants who graduated outside Canada.



Immigrants who completed their studies outside Canada and whose highest level of educational attainment was a degree in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry also had particularly high predicted probabilities of persistent overqualification (10.1%), compared with non-immigrants (0.2%).

Among immigrants with a degree in education from outside Canada, nearly one in five had experienced persistent overqualification

The effect of fields of study on the risks of over-qualification was similar among non-immigrants, immigrants who studied in Canada and those who studied outside Canada. However, the field of education was a notable exception. Non-immigrants and immigrants who studied in this field in Canada were among those who had the lowest probabilities of having experienced persistent overqualification (2% and 3%, respectively). Conversely, immigrants who graduated in education and studied outside Canada were more likely than average to have experienced such a trajectory (18%).

These results suggest that degrees in education obtained abroad are the hardest to have recognized and valued in the Canadian labour market, compared with education degrees obtained in Canada, which offer particularly favourable prospects for access to skilled employment.

Immigrant women admitted as economic immigrants are more likely to have experienced persistent overqualification than their male counterparts

As shown is Table 1, women were more likely than men to experience persistent overqualification, particularly among immigrants. This difference narrowed when a series of variables were taken into account, but was still significant. Specifically, a gap was seen between men and women among more recent immigrants (1997 to 2006). The predicted probabilities of persistent overqualification among women immigrants admitted before that were similar to what was seen among men.^Note

There were also differences between men and women in terms of the probability of persistent overqualification based on the admission category^Note (Chart 4), but only among immigrants admitted in the economic class. Immigrant women in this category were at greater risk than men of having experienced persistent overqualification, among both principal and secondary applicants.

Conclusion

Among graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher, long-term persistent overqualification disproportionately affects immigrants who obtained their highest degree outside Canada. However, for these immigrants, their place of origin and graduation is a determining factor. Probabilities of overqualification for immigrants who studied in the United States, Europe (except Eastern Europe) and Oceania were similar to or even lower than those of non-immigrants and immigrants who graduated in Canada. In contrast, immigrants who studied in certain regions (i.e., Southern and Southeast Asia) stood out for their particularly high probability of experiencing persistent overqualification. Immigrants who studied in Canada were more similar to non-immigrants in this regard, although some differences can be seen depending on the region of origin.

These regional variations in the probability of persistent overqualification may be explained by differences in the recognition of degrees, variations related to the graduates’ competencies or their international transferability, or specific migration dynamics. However, this study does not allow for conclusions to be drawn on these different hypotheses.

Regional differences in the probability of persistent overqualification were also related to the level of familiarity with English and French. The greater the level of familiarity with Canada’s official languages—estimated by cross-tabulating the official language knowledge, mother tongue and languages spoken at home variables—the lower the risk of having experienced persistent overqualification.

In addition to the location of study, the other characteristics associated with the degree (i.e., educational attainment and field of study) are also important predictors of overqualification. Certain fields of study were less associated with persistent overqualification (education; mathematics, computer and information sciences; health and related fields; architecture, engineering and related technologies), while the association was stronger with others (humanities).

Overall, the impact of the field of study was similar whether the studies were completed in Canada or abroad. However, the field of education was a notable exception. This field showed a low probability for overqualification among workers who studied in Canada, but higher than average probabilities for those who studied outside Canada.

While a higher level of educational attainment tended to reduce the risk of persistent overqualification, immigrants who obtained a graduate degree were less protected from such a trajectory than non-immigrants. Furthermore, there were immigrants who graduated abroad in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry and who showed probabilities of persistent overqualification that were not consistent with what was seen among Canadian graduates.

The impact of sex was significant among immigrants, particularly recent immigrants. Overall, women were more likely than men to experience persistent overqualification.

Recent immigrants were at greater risk of experiencing overqualification in 2006, but the risk of it transforming into persistent overqualification was higher among older immigrants, as younger immigrants were more likely to experience a trajectory leading out of overqualification.

The relative risks of persistent overqualification affecting workers with certain characteristics differently from others must not obscure the fact that the majority of workers—whether they are immigrants, graduates in humanities or Southern Asian graduates—did not experience this trajectory. That said, these trajectories represented only a part of those characterized by at least one incident of overqualification.

Future work could also focus on dynamics that distinguish immigrants with foreign degrees from each other, based on their region of origin. In particular, the distinctive cases of Southeast Asia, and particularly Southern Asia, should be further explored. The effects of certain additional factors (work experience, competencies, belonging to certain population groups designated as visible minorities, the specific immigration program, having lived in Canada as a student or temporary worker for a certain number of years before obtaining permanent residency) should also be studied. It would also be relevant to directly examine the issue of formal and informal recognition of diplomas obtained abroad, which seems to be an important factor in differentiating certain groups of immigrants, but that a study of overqualification only allows us to examine in approximate terms.

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Louis Cornelissen is a research analyst at Statistics Canada’s Centre for Ethnocultural, Language and Immigration Statistics and Martin Turcotte is Editor in Chief of Insights on Canadian Society, which is part of Statistics Canada’s Centre for Social Data Insights and Innovation.

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