FOREIGN PROFESSIONALS AND DOMESTIC REGULATION

Changes in demographics and patterns of investment in human capital are creating increased scope for international trade in professional services. The scope for mutually beneficial trade is, however, inhibited not only by quotas and discriminatory taxation, but also by domestic regulation -- including a range of qualification and licensing requirements and procedures. To illustrate the nature and implications of these regulatory impediments, this paper presents a detailed description of the regulatory requirements faced in the United States market by four types of Indian professionals: doctors, engineers, architects, and accountants. India is one of the largest exporters of skilled services, and the United States is one of the largest importers of skilled services, so these two countries reflect broader global trends. The paper argues that regulatory discrimination, for example through preferential recognition agreements, has implications both for the pattern of trade and for welfare. It presents some illustrative estimates that suggest the economic cost of regulations may be substantial. The paper concludes by examining how the trade-inhibiting impact of regulatory requirements could be addressed through bilateral and multilateral negotiations.Accreditation; architect; architects; Architecture; barriers to entry; board meeting; candidate; candidates; career; career advancement; Certificate;

Software Engineering Education Needs More Engineering

To what extent is “software engineering” really “engineering” as this term is commonly understood? A hallmark of the products of the traditional engineering disciplines is trustworthiness based on dependability. But in his keynote presentation at ICSE 2006 Barry Boehm pointed out that individuals’, systems’, and peoples’ dependency on software is becoming increasingly critical, yet that dependability is generally not the top priority for software intensive system producers. Continuing in an uncharacteristic pessimistic vein, Professor Boehm said that this situation will likely continue until a major software-induced system catastrophe similar in impact to the 9/11 World Trade Center catastrophe stimulates action toward establishing accountability for software dependability. He predicts that it is highly likely that such a software-induced catastrophe will occur between now and 2025. It is widely understood that software, i.e., computer programs, are intrinsically different from traditionally engineered products, but in one aspect they are identical: the extent to which the well-being of individuals, organizations, and society in general increasingly depend on software. As wardens of the future through our mentoring of the next generation of software developers, we believe that it is our responsibility to at least address Professor Boehm’s predicted catastrophe. Traditional engineering has, and continually addresses its social responsibility through the evolution of the education, practice, and professional certification/licensing of professional engineers. To be included in the fraternity of professional engineers, software engineering must do the same. To get a rough idea of where software engineering currently stands on some of these issues we conducted two surveys. Our main survey was sent to software engineering academics in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Among other items it sought detail information on their software engineering programs. Our auxiliary survey was sent to U.S. engineering institutions to get some idea about how software engineering programs compared with those in established engineering disciplines of Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering. Summaries of our findings can be found in the last two sections of our paper

Migrating professional knowledge: progressions, regressions, and dislocations

Drawing on practice-based learning theory, this chapter examines issues pertaining to the deskilling of immigrant professionals in Canada. It argues that adult educators need to have an awareness of transnational migration dynamics and work in meaningful ways to keep immigrant professionals connected to professional knowledge practices

The disjuncture of learning and recognition: credential assessment from the standpoint of Chinese immigrant engineers in Canada

To better recognise foreign qualifications, many OECD countries have promoted liberal fairness epitomised by universal standards and institutional efficiency. This paper departs from such a managerial orientation towards recognition. Building on recognitive justice, it proposes an alternative anchoring point for recognition practices: the standpoint or everyday experiences of immigrants. This approach is illustrated with a qualitative study of the credential recognition practices of the engineering profession in Canada. From the standpoint of Chinese immigrants, the study identifies a disjuncture between credential recognition practices and immigrants’ career stage post-migration. Taking this disjuncture as problematic, it further pinpoints recognition issues such as redundancy and arbitrariness, a narrow focus on undergraduate education, and a deficit view of training from other countries. While some of these issues may be addressed by improving administrative procedures, others demand a participatory space allowing immigrants to become partners of assessment, rather than merely its objects. (DIPF/Orig.

A review of occupational regulation and its impact

This Evidence Report develops a deeper understanding of the nature and impact of occupational regulation in the UK. The term, occupational regulation, is a broad heading for various mechanisms (including licence to practice and voluntary forms) through which minimum skill standards are applied within occupations. As such, occupational regulation is one of a range of levers, or best market solutions, which are designed to encourage employers to train on a collective basis. The use of occupational regulation as a mechanism for increasing the demand for, and supply of, skills was considered alongside other measures, as part of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ Review of Employer Collective Measures. However, that Review acknowledged the general topic of occupational regulation was under researched in the UK. This research, conducted by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, helps to address this and deepens our knowledge of the area by: providing a discussion on the existing theory on occupational regulation by examining existing economic literature; providing a detailed review of the existing evidence on occupational regulation in the UK, America, Canada and Europe (Germany, France and Italy), again via existing literature; providing a comprehensive map of occupational regulation in the UK, through the mapping of managerial, professional and non-professional occupations at the Unit Group level of the Standard Occupational Classification (2000); producing estimates of the labour market impact of occupational regulation in the UK. Its prevalence is estimated by comparing the mapping output with Unit Group data obtained from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). Further analysis, via cross-sectional analysis, produces estimates on levels of qualifications, wages and rates of job-related training between workers in regulated and unregulated occupations. This uses QLFS 2010 data. And a Difference-in-Differences analysis is employed to evaluate the impact of switches in regulation status on skill levels, job-related education and training, wages and employment. This uses QLFS data between 2001 and 2010

Internationalisation of Innovation: Why Chip Design Moving to Asia

This paper will appear in International Journal of Innovation Management, special issue in honor of Keith Pavitt, (Peter Augsdoerfer, Jonathan Sapsed, and James Utterback, guest editors), forthcoming. Among Keith Pavitt's many contributions to the study of innovation is the proposition that physical proximity is advantageous for innovative activities that involve highly complex technological knowledge But chip design, a process that creates the greatest value in the electronics industry and that requires highly complex knowledge, is experiencing a massive dispersion to leading Asian electronics exporting countries. To explain why chip design is moving to Asia, the paper draws on interviews with 60 companies and 15 research institutions that are doing leading-edge chip design in Asia. I demonstrate that "pull" and "policy" factors explain what attracts design to particular locations. But to get to the root causes that shift the balance in favor of geographical decentralization, I examine "push" factors, i.e. changes in design methodology ("system-on-chip design") and organization ("vertical specialization" within global design networks). The resultant increase in knowledge mobility explains why chip design - that, in Pavitt's framework is not supposed to move - is moving from the traditional centers to a few new specialized design clusters in Asia. A completely revised and updated version has been published as: " Complexity and Internationalisation of Innovation: Why is Chip Design Moving to Asia?," in International Journal of Innovation Management, special issue in honour of Keith Pavitt, Vol. 9,1: 47-73.

Talent Is Ready: Promising Practices for Helping Immigrant Professionals

Outlines the need to better integrate highly skilled immigrants into the workforce, promising practices in assessment and advising, skill building, and organizational capacity building; and tips and insights for nonprofits, funders, and policy makers