Why do African migrants with a tertiary education do menial jobs in Cape Town?

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dc.contributor.advisorSichone, Owenen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorLincoln, Daviden_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBamanayi, Mbikayi Alexisen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-12-26T14:06:39Z
dc.date.available2014-12-26T14:06:39Z
dc.date.issued2008en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references ( leaves 86-91).en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis research considers the reasons for the position of African migrants with a tertiary education in menial jobs in Cape Town. Until recently, mainstream migration literature on South Africa has tended to universalise xenophobia and to treat migrants as innocent people for their situation. To what extent does xenophobia explain the position of skilled migrants in menial work in Cape Town bearing in mind that i) South Africa suffers a shortage of skills needed to spur economic growth and development, ii) xenophilia (love and support for foreigners) is part and parcel of the interactions between South Africans and foreigners? Using an in-depth, qualitative, face-to-face interview schedule instrument and a convenience sampling method to select twelve skilled migrants from five African countries, this research provides a 'thick' and comprehensive understanding of the reasons for the position of African skilled migrants in menial jobs in Cape Town. It establishes a system of antecedent and immediate reasons which explain this position. The antecedent reasons are deprivation in home countries, reliance on superficial information and/or emotions to find out about opportunities in South Africa, the imperative of survival, reliance on limited social capital to find jobs, limited English skills, low entry requirements characterising menial jobs, and the fact that the migrants saw menial jobs as a temporary measure and exploited this facet of such jobs. Immediate reasons consist of limited knowledge of Xhosa and Afrikaans languages, xenophobia, racism, and the temporary nature of asylum seeker permit identity document. This research challenges the sketchy finding of earlier studies which has implicitly suggested that xenophobia is omnipresent in South Africa. It throws doubt into the extent to which the Government and businesses are informed about and willing to tackle the skills shortage in this country. It shows that the value of education is not forgone even though highly educated migrants do menial jobs. Such migrants are likely to and do secure professional jobs in the long-term.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationBamanayi, M. A. (2008). <i>Why do African migrants with a tertiary education do menial jobs in Cape Town?</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Social Development. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10095en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBamanayi, Mbikayi Alexis. <i>"Why do African migrants with a tertiary education do menial jobs in Cape Town?."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Social Development, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10095en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBamanayi, M. 2008. Why do African migrants with a tertiary education do menial jobs in Cape Town?. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Bamanayi, Mbikayi Alexis AB - This research considers the reasons for the position of African migrants with a tertiary education in menial jobs in Cape Town. Until recently, mainstream migration literature on South Africa has tended to universalise xenophobia and to treat migrants as innocent people for their situation. To what extent does xenophobia explain the position of skilled migrants in menial work in Cape Town bearing in mind that i) South Africa suffers a shortage of skills needed to spur economic growth and development, ii) xenophilia (love and support for foreigners) is part and parcel of the interactions between South Africans and foreigners? Using an in-depth, qualitative, face-to-face interview schedule instrument and a convenience sampling method to select twelve skilled migrants from five African countries, this research provides a 'thick' and comprehensive understanding of the reasons for the position of African skilled migrants in menial jobs in Cape Town. It establishes a system of antecedent and immediate reasons which explain this position. The antecedent reasons are deprivation in home countries, reliance on superficial information and/or emotions to find out about opportunities in South Africa, the imperative of survival, reliance on limited social capital to find jobs, limited English skills, low entry requirements characterising menial jobs, and the fact that the migrants saw menial jobs as a temporary measure and exploited this facet of such jobs. Immediate reasons consist of limited knowledge of Xhosa and Afrikaans languages, xenophobia, racism, and the temporary nature of asylum seeker permit identity document. This research challenges the sketchy finding of earlier studies which has implicitly suggested that xenophobia is omnipresent in South Africa. It throws doubt into the extent to which the Government and businesses are informed about and willing to tackle the skills shortage in this country. It shows that the value of education is not forgone even though highly educated migrants do menial jobs. Such migrants are likely to and do secure professional jobs in the long-term. DA - 2008 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2008 T1 - Why do African migrants with a tertiary education do menial jobs in Cape Town? TI - Why do African migrants with a tertiary education do menial jobs in Cape Town? UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10095 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/10095
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBamanayi MA. Why do African migrants with a tertiary education do menial jobs in Cape Town?. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Social Development, 2008 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10095en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Social Developmenten_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherDevelopment Studiesen_ZA
dc.titleWhy do African migrants with a tertiary education do menial jobs in Cape Town?en_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPhilen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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