Rethinking the Role of Volunteering in the Labor Market Inclusion of Migrants

This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details. Author(s): Title: Year: Version: Copyright: Rights: Rights url: Please cite the original version: CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Rethinking the Role of Volunteering in the Labor Market Inclusion of Migrants © The Author(s) 2023 Published version Bontenbal, Ilona; Calo, Francesca; Montgomery, Tom; Baglioni, Simone Bontenbal, I., Calo, F., Montgomery, T., & Baglioni, S. (2024). Rethinking the Role of Volunteering in the Labor Market Inclusion of Migrants. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 53(1), 107-126. https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640231162352 2024 https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640231162352 Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 1 –20 © The Author(s) 2023 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/08997640231162352 journals.sagepub.com/home/nvs Article Rethinking the Role of Volunteering in the Labor Market Inclusion of Migrants Ilona Bontenbal1, Francesca Calo2, Tom Montgomery3, and Simone Baglioni4 Abstract In this article, we critically investigate the role that volunteering can have in the labor market inclusion of migrants. We consider how volunteering can both enhance and hinder inclusion through a comparison of two different contexts: Finland and the United Kingdom, where both welfare state and migration regimes are differently shaped. We also question whether volunteering to gain work experience can be defined as “volunteering” or whether it corresponds more with a definition of unpaid labor. Our research is based on 104 interviews with migrants (including refugees and asylum seekers) from various nationalities. We find that volunteering is used in both countries as a way to gain work experience, in the absence of opportunities to enter regular employment. However, volunteering rarely directly leads to employment even though it may facilitate it indirectly and, thus, risks trapping migrants in a vicious cycle that does not always lead to labor market inclusion. Keywords unpaid work, volunteering, inclusion, labor market, migrants Introduction Being a part of the labor market is often considered one of the markers and means of inclusion as it can play a significant role in the economic and social involvement of people within society (Anger & Strand, 2008). This is also the case for migrants, 1University of Jyväskylä, Finland 2The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK 3Glasgow Caledonian University, UK 4University of Parma, Italy Corresponding Author: Ilona Bontenbal, University of Jyväskylä, PL 35 FI-40014, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland. Email: [email protected] 1162352NVSXXX10.1177/08997640231162352Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector QuarterlyBontenbal et al. research-article2023 2 Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 00(0) refugees, and asylum seekers. However, the inclusion of migrants into the labor market has not always been very successful (Eurostat, 2021). Volunteering is, often uncritically, considered a viable remedy to unsuccessful labor market inclusion, as well as to a large variety of other issues such as the disintegration of societies, the shortcomings of the welfare state, and the loneliness of older adults (Overgaard, 2019). Because of this, migrants are often actively steered to participate in a range of nonprofit organizations by integration policy stakeholders, including in both Finland and the United Kingdom, the countries which are the focus of our research. Across the literature, the role that volunteering can play to overcome some of the barriers that migrants face in their inclusion into the labor market is well documented: Volunteering is found to have an important part in the inclusion of migrants through the development of social capital, the acquisition of skills and experience, the acquisition of languages, the improvement of health and well-being and by providing opportunities to learn about the way of life in the host country, including customs, norms, and habits (Calò et al., 2021; Dudley, 2007; Guo, 2014; Handy & Greenspan, 2009; Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2017). However, volunteering also has its downsides such as the undervaluing of skills, disempowerment, and precarity (Bauder, 2003; Brennan, 2018; Maury, 2019; Overgaard, 2019), which are less well documented and are less of a focus at the policy level. In this study, we engage in the debate of what role volunteering could and should have in the integration of migrants, particularly in the labor market. We aim to problematize the “voluntariness” of volunteering aimed at labor market inclusion and, thus, contribute to those discussions on why volunteering should, in some cases, be considered as unpaid labor (Overgaard, 2019). Considering the ambiguous relationship between volunteering and unpaid labor from the perspective of migrant inclusion is a novel approach in the field given how often the role of volunteering, particularly in migration and integration in the labor market, is considered without analyzing its nature (e.g., voluntariness). In this study, we, therefore, explore how volunteering is perceived by migrants, and we address the following research questions: (a) Do the different contexts lead to different kinds of understandings and experiences of volunteering and the voluntariness of volunteering? (b) How do migrants perceive the role that volunteering has in inclusion, especially in labor market inclusion? On a conceptual level, we aim to come to an understanding of the differences between doing volunteering and doing unpaid labor, in the context of the labor market inclusion of migrants. We do so by analyzing the perceptions and experiences of migrants in two different countries, the United Kingdom and Finland, where different policy emphases are given to inclusion. Finland and the United Kingdom represent two very different models of welfare and migration regimes (Esping-Andersen, 1990; Geddes & Scholten, 2016). In terms of welfare models, what matters for us is the role that the nonprofit sector plays in the delivery of public welfare state-related services at the national and local levels. In fact, very often, volunteering occurs through nonprofit or civil society organizations that often are the preferred collaborators in producing and delivering public services. Nonprofit organizations have played a key role in the implementation of United Kingdom policies (Egdell & Dutton, 2017; Lowndes & Bontenbal et al. 3 Pratchett, 2012), while in comparison, they have had a less central role in the implementation of Finnish policies where the state or public actors have retained an important welfare state delivery role (Wiepking & Handy, 2015). In terms of migration regimes, migration has been a contentious issue in the policy and public terrain in the United Kingdom, with a scarce focus on integration and a stronger focus on border control (Calò et al., 2021, 2022; Mulvey, 2018), while in Finland, a more inclusive approach has been promoted, with labor market integration services mainly delivered by public social service structures (Bontenbal & Lillie, 2021). Such different approaches to migration, and to the role that the nonprofit sector plays, in turn, affect the opportunities for volunteering, the experience of volunteering, and the way that volunteering is perceived by communities. Although neither in the United Kingdom nor in Finland are migrants requested to participate in volunteering to receive welfare benefits, the everyday reality of opportunities for volunteering is quite different. In the United Kingdom, due to austerity policies, nonprofit organizations, particularly those which provide services to migrants where they volunteer most often, have seen their budgets and their involvement in public service delivery reduced significantly (Calò et al., 2021), restricting options to provide volunteering experiences and more generally inclusion opportunities. In comparison, in Finland, migrants have been particularly active in participating in and establishing their own organizations (Pirkkalainen et al., 2018; Pyykkönen, 2007) to which they donate their time and efforts through volunteering. Our chosen contexts, thus, represent two distinct settings in which volunteering can be used, in different ways, to improve access to employment for migrants (Eisenhardt & Graebner, 2007; Yin, 1994). As such, our study offers a novel contribution to those debates regarding the importance of contexts to deliver more effective inclusion. Our article is structured as follows: First, we discuss the debate in the literature concerning the effects of volunteering in the inclusion of migrants. We then explain our methodological approach and introduce our data collection. After this, we present our findings where we explore and compare, in both contexts, the perceptions of migrants about their volunteering experiences and their impact in relation to the labor market inclusion of migrants and broader integration. We conclude by discussing the implications of our results for policy and practice, highlighting how volunteering can represent a potential means of inclusion only under specific circumstances. The Potential Role of Volunteering: A Barrier, Enabler, or Both? Research has shown that volunteering in nonprofit organizations can have an important role in the inclusion of migrants, and it can function as a potential “stepping stone” to employment (De Jong, 2019; Garkisch et al., 2017; Handy & Greenspan, 2009; Vickers, 2016; Yap et al., 2011). For example, volunteering has been found to enable people to gain references, work experience, and a sense of the local work environment, thus helping people in their job search and in their career development (Guo, 2014). 4 Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 00(0) Through volunteering, migrants can also establish useful ties, gather information, learn the language, and engage in political activities (Cattacin & Domenig, 2014; Dudley, 2007; Guo, 2014). Volunteers have been found to have a higher probability of receiving a positive reaction to their job applications and to be invited for job interviews (Baert & Vujic, 2016b). Moreover, volunteering has also been found to lower the discrimination that migrants face at the hiring stage (Baert & Vujic, 2016a). An important dimension of the positive aspects of volunteering also comes through its social impact: Through volunteering, migrants can become a part of the community, gain a sense of belonging, and expand their social circles (Cheung & Phillimore, 2014; Guo, 2014; Morrice, 2007; Wessendorf, 2018), which can assist in finding employment opportunities (Calò et al., 2021; Handy & Greenspan, 2009). Volunteering has also been found to lessen feelings of isolation (Banulescu-Bogdan, 2020; Guo, 2014), and it can facilitate connections between migrants with similar interests and those who are also facing similar problems (Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2017). In the host society, migrants often end up in occupations that do not match their skills or qualifications (Siebers & van Gastel, 2015). In such cases, being involved in nonprofit organizations and volunteering can fill a void left by occupational downgrading and can offer a place of recognition (Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2017), as well as a safe space where migrants can be themselves (Cattacin & Domenig, 2014; Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2017). Volunteering can thus be perceived as a source of empowerment if volunteers are able to fully realize their skills or reframe their selfimage (Slootjes & Kampen, 2017), and it may provide migrants with opportunities to find meaningful venues for self-actualization (Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2017). Furthermore, learning new skills or developing social capital can provide a source of meaning and purpose to the volunteer (Slootjes & Kampen, 2017). Extant research has suggested that volunteering enables the individual to build an identity of someone who has not just survived their own trauma but who can draw upon their personal experiences to help others (Grönlund, 2011; Slootjes & Kampen, 2017). Consequently, volunteering can be perceived to strengthen migrants’ self-esteem (Dudley, 2007) and help to achieve a form of empowerment and a sense of belonging for themselves and others (Guo, 2014; Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2017). However, volunteering is not seen solely in a positive light. Other strands of research have instead focused on the potential costs that volunteering can incur for migrants. For example, volunteering often does not lead to paid employment, and instead, it may widen the gap to finding employment even further, as volunteers tend to adopt an emotional distance from the labor market and begin to identify as volunteers. Thus, they may begin to give greater significance to volunteering than paid employment (Kampen, 2014). In turn, this can lead to disillusionment and disappointment, as volunteers can acquire a perception that employers do not consider their volunteering to be “real” work experience and do not recognize their new skills and knowledge which are not formalized by a credential (Slootjes & Kampen, 2017). As noted by Allan (2019), unemployed and underemployed migrants have also been found to struggle to present volunteer work as valuable “work experience” in curriculum vitae (CVs) and LinkedIn profiles. Furthermore, because volunteers are not Bontenbal et al. 5 formally employed, they are not entitled to legal rights and protections in the workplace, which can put them in a precarious position (Brennan, 2018). Volunteering can also create more exclusion than inclusion. For various reasons, migrants may find it easier to build social networks with migrants from similar backgrounds (e.g., see Li & Pitkänen, 2018). This means that people often meet others who have similar educational backgrounds and financial situations. Volunteering, thus, leads to strengthening social capital (Putnam, 2000) among their own ethnic-religious group (bonding capital) but does not contribute to the same degree when developing links across ethnic social ties (bridging capital) (Handy & Greenspan, 2009). Dudley (2007) also highlighted that if migrants mainly interact with other migrants who speak the same language as they do, the opportunity to learn the local language remains limited (Dudley, 2007). Furthermore, although volunteering as part of in-group communities, with other migrants from similar backgrounds, can fortify intra-ethnic ties, it can also reinforce a sense of otherness and isolation from the mainstream community (Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2017). In addition, the most vulnerable migrants can also be excluded from volunteering, as many do not have the time to volunteer as they have to focus on paid employment to provide for their family (Scott et al., 2006). Our article aims at contributing to this debate, focusing more in depth on the perceptions of migrants on how volunteering has facilitated or impeded their inclusion into the labor market. Through analyzing perspectives of the potential costs associated with volunteering, we aim to problematize the way that migrants are actively steered toward volunteering and other forms of unpaid labor through integration policies. Methodology Our research is based on 104 qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted in the 2018 to 2020 period in Finland (60) and the United Kingdom (44) with migrants who arrived from countries outside of the European Union. We focus on third country nationals because it is their labor market inclusion that has been more challenging in Europe rather than intra-European Union migrants (Eurostat, 2021). In the United Kingdom, most of the interviews were conducted before the Brexit-led changes in legislation, and the interviewed migrants had arrived in the United Kingdom prior to the Brexit referendum. We interviewed migrants who had come to Finland and the United Kingdom for various reasons, such as employment, study, family, and international protection to explore a wide variety of perceptions about volunteering. Most of our interviews have been conducted with migrants living in urban contexts, in both countries. The interviews were conducted as part of a large collaborative European project—Skills and Integration of Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Applicants in the European Labour Markets (SIRIUS). Overall, individuals from 25 different nationalities were interviewed. In Finland, migrants from Russia, Ukraine, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Nepal, Iraq, Columbia, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, and China were interviewed. In the United Kingdom, migrants from Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, Somalia, Malaysia, Turkey, Algeria, Iraq, Egypt, Jamaica, India, Eritrea, Nigeria, Salvador, Ivory Coast, and South Africa were interviewed. In Finland, the 6 Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 00(0) interviews were conducted in either English, Finnish, or the migrants' own language. To enable this, the support of migrant background research assistants was drawn upon. In the United Kingdom, interviews were conducted in English. The interviewees had been in Finland and the United Kingdom for a range of time periods: Some had stayed for up to 20 years, whereas others had only recently arrived. Those that had been in the country for a longer time have had more opportunities for volunteering and also more time to become accustomed to the volunteering norms and habits, as well as to the culture of nonprofit organizations in the host society, which may be different from those in their countries of origin. The length of stay of the interviewees is noted after each quotation. The interviews lasted approximately 1 hour, and they were conducted face-to-face. They were conducted across various sites such as libraries, cafés, and university classrooms/meeting rooms. The interviewees were contacted via emailing lists, nongovernmental organizations, contact persons, language classes, asylum reception centers, and by using the snow-balling method. The interviews were conducted mainly in English and Finnish, or in other languages if needed. Ethical approval was requested and obtained from the ethical committees of the institutions of the authors at the time of research and the ethics board of the large collaborative project. The interviews were recorded and transcribed (and, in some cases, translated into English). Data were analyzed and thematically coded using the data analysis software NVIVO10 and QDA miner. The analysis of the research material took several stages: First, a country-specific thematic analysis was conducted, in which the main factors that arose from Finland and the United Kingdom regarding the role of volunteering in labor market inclusion were analyzed in detail. These were summarized into country-specific descriptions that were widely discussed among the research team. Following this, the countryspecific analyses were compared with each other, and based on the comparison, a description was written, which forms the basis of the article's findings. Comparing Migrants' Perceptions on the Role of Volunteering on Inclusion in Finland and the United Kingdom In our findings, we will first provide an overview of the experiences of volunteering undertaken in the two different contexts, followed by analyses and discussion on perceptions of how, in the two different contexts, volunteering represents an enabler and/ or barrier in labor market inclusion and how these experiences contribute toward a better understanding of the relationship between volunteering and unpaid labor. Migrants' Understanding of Volunteering The migrants that were interviewed for this research both in Finland and the United Kingdom reported engaging in a wide variety of activities such as social media management, organizing events, working with children, and/or performing public performances for different nonprofit organizations. Most of the interviewees volunteered or had Bontenbal et al. 7 volunteered at local migrant-led organizations and multicultural centers. Only a few interviewees with higher skills levels, and only in the United Kingdom, had volunteered in national or international organizations dealing mostly with migration and refugee issues. In Finland, besides volunteering in established organizations, some of the interviewees took part in setting up their own association and actively donated their time and efforts to it. In contrast, in the United Kingdom, among our research participants, only one refugee was actively interested in setting up his own organization, a social enterprise, to provide employment and support to other migrants. The findings illustrate that in migrant contexts, we should not perceive volunteering as one form of activity but instead an activity that can take many forms (Overgaard, 2019). Some of these forms come closer to unpaid labor than others. This lack of a unitary definition can also mean that it can be difficult for migrants to understand what is meant by volunteering and how it is, for example, different from other types of participation in the nonprofit sector, as was illustrated especially by the interviews in the Finnish context. We should consider that whether one sees oneself as a volunteer, participant, or client probably reflects differences in participation culture and the use of language. Interestingly, we found that in the Finnish case, the boundary between volunteering and doing other types of unpaid work, such as internships or work practices,1 was perceived as blurred. In their lived experiences, the migrants we interviewed did not make a clear distinction between the two. This is also why, in our analysis, we discuss both volunteering and work practices as forms of unpaid labor. Some of our interviewees talked about their “work practices” as a volunteering activity, whereas others talked about volunteering as “work,” “unpaid work,” “additional work,” “part-time work,” “offering services,” or a “parallel profession” (see similar findings by Khvorostianov & Remennick, 2017; Slootjes & Kampen, 2017). This illustrates that even though volunteering may conceptually, from a sociological viewpoint, be different from unpaid labor, in practical terms, it might often be difficult for migrants to distinguish between the two, at least in the Finnish context. Moreover, what is also interesting is that in Finland, in relation to labor market inclusion, the role of volunteering was emphasized less frequently, in comparison to the role of undertaking “work practices,” which are often unpaid, and into which migrants are actively steered by the integration policy. This corresponds to previous survey findings, according to which in Finland, volunteering opportunities were found only by 4% of social partners to be an effective strategy for the labor market inclusion of migrants (Bontenbal & Lillie, 2020). To present irregular and unpaid labor as meaningful “work experience” (in line with Allan, 2019), an instrumentalized type of volunteering in the form of “work practices” is emphasized. The Finnish integration training system, which is available for unemployed migrants, generally includes a practical labor market training period during which migrants have to find themselves a “work practice.” To differentiate these from internships, which are often undertaken as part of study programs and are more career-oriented, “work practices” are closer to volunteering. “Work practices” are a form of unpaid activity undertaken in various organizations, which often include nonprofit organizations and municipal institutions 8 Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 00(0) (such as day care centers), to familiarize migrants with the Finnish working culture. What further blurs the lines is that although finding unpaid “work practices” does not seem to be an issue, finding internships to be undertaken as part of studies seems to be more difficult (see Masoud et al., 2021), and migrants sometimes had to turn to volunteering as an ad hoc form of work experience (see also Allan, 2019). In the United Kingdom, the boundary between volunteering and doing unpaid internships was not perceived as blurred. Most probably because migrants, generally speaking, do not have opportunities to undertake internships because of the legal framework. Internships (or unpaid work) are only available and legally permitted for specific groups: Only those migrants who conclude their program of study in a United Kingdom university (the graduate route), students who decide to intern during their official vacation periods, and refugees are allowed to take part in an internship. This is even more relevant for asylum seekers, for whom volunteering is allowed by law but undertaking unpaid work is not. Interestingly, only one of our interviewees identified internships as a potential mechanism for inclusion into the United Kingdom labor market. This was the case of a young woman, a high-skilled refugee, who volunteered during her postgraduate study, and at the end of her program, a company—which was a partner in one of the projects she was volunteering with—noted her skills and CV. The company first offered her an internship, followed by a job placement. She then worked in a position that matched her qualifications and skills and was thriving in her new role. The different emphasis on volunteering versus internships also relates to the different motivations that were highlighted in the two contexts as the rationale behind volunteering. In Finland, the interviewees emphasized the social role of volunteering and wanting to give back through helping other migrants who are in a similar situation, which was considered an important duty for many (see Weng & Lee, 2016). Some interviewees also emphasized the need to appear active, through volunteering and internships, in the eyes of the “native” population, to gain acceptance. However, in the United Kingdom, the role of volunteering as a stepping stone to the labor market was emphasized, through building a CV and gaining relevant experience for the British labor market. Another significant difference between the two contexts related to the fact that in the United Kingdom, some migrants, specifically asylum seekers, perceived volunteering as evidence of integration to improve the possibility of a positive decision on an asylum application. However, the reality of making a distinction between volunteering, which is allowed, and doing voluntary work or unpaid work such as internships, which is not allowed, was identified as very difficult. This led to potential variation and inconsistencies in terms of how immigration officers implement policy and make decisions on different cases. In Finland, on the contrary, volunteering cannot have a positive or negative impact on the decision of asylum applications, which have to be solely based on the need for protection. Thus, while gaining hostcountry-specific work experience is found to be crucial in both contexts, the acquisition of such experiences occurs in somewhat different ways through either an emphasis upon volunteering or “work practices.” Bontenbal et al. 15 migrants as volunteers should be further analyzed to better understand their motives and their understanding of possible benefits of volunteering. This information would be needed to, for example, understand whether volunteering and voluntary-like work practices are used as a form of exploitation or not. It should also be noted that our data include interviews with migrants who have migrated from countries outside of the European Union to Finland and the United Kingdom. It would be interesting to see whether similar reasons for and experiences with volunteering would be found among migrants who have migrated within Europe. Because the labor market position of migrants from countries outside the European Union is often more precarious in Finland and the United Kingdom, it is also possible that their reliance on unpaid labor is more significant. Also, as Wiepking and Handy (2015) note, volunteering is not equally seen as something positive in different cultures. Volunteering may, for example, in some cultures, be perceived as unattractive, unpaid work that is regulated or unencouraged (Greenspan et al., 2018). Furthermore, as Voicu (2014) describes, cultural norms of associationism are internalized, and they travel with the migrant and continue influencing migrants' decisions in the host society (Voicu, 2014, p. 616). Because of this, the norms and ideas from the country of origin may thus affect the migrants' decision to volunteer in the host society. Cultural factors and the way that different backgrounds influence ideas about volunteering, also in relation or contrast to unpaid labor, should be considered more specifically in future research. Furthermore, although we have selected two different host society contexts, it would be interesting to test and explore our findings in other contexts, in which the role of nonprofit organizations and/or the migration system is different, aiming at understanding if, in those contexts, the emphasis on the positive or negative aspects is different. Conclusion In our research, based on 104 qualitative semi-structured interviews, conducted in the 2018 to 2020 period, with migrants in the United Kingdom and Finland, we problematized some of the assumptions regarding the role of volunteering in the labor market inclusion of migrants, through analyzing migrants' experiences and perceptions. Our findings contribute to the debate about whether volunteering should, in some cases, be perceived as a form of unpaid labor, as well as discussion of the perceived effects of volunteering on the labor market inclusion of migrants. Our findings illustrate that in both contexts, doing volunteering and volunteeringlike activities can act both as an enabler and barrier to (labor market) inclusion. In line with the integration policy rhetoric, the migrants interviewed both in Finland and the United Kingdom generally perceived that volunteering and volunteering-like activities could function as an enabler to inclusion, through providing opportunities to gain work experience and facilitating language learning (as also found by Baert & Vujic, 2016b; Cattacin & Domenig, 2014; Dudley, 2007; Guo, 2014). Volunteering was also perceived as supporting the improvement of a sense of belonging and increasing social capital (see also Cheung & Phillimore, 2014; Wessendorf, 2018). Despite such positive aspects, we have also identified negative aspects of volunteering for the labor market 16 Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 00(0) inclusion of migrants. In both contexts, volunteering rarely leads to regular employment or provides an income, instead it is an arrangement that pushes people to work without pay. Our findings highlight that migrants are often trapped in a continuous cycle of volunteering, most often in organizations that are concerned with the inclusion of migrants, which risks transforming volunteering into a meaningless experience, in terms of a step toward labor market inclusion. As such, volunteering can become a potential mechanism of exclusion, instead of inclusion, which is underlined even more by the fact that access to volunteering opportunities do not seem to be equal to all. We also contribute to the discussion on making a distinction between volunteering and unpaid labor. We find that volunteering is not one form of activity, but instead it can take various forms, some of which are closer to unpaid labor than others. We find that often making a distinction between volunteering and doing unpaid labor is not clear, especially in regard to activities that migrants participate in to enhance their labor market position. Especially in Finland, the line between volunteering and doing unpaid work in the form of various “work practices” was perceived as blurred. In the United Kingdom, the distinction was less blurred mainly because migrants, especially asylum seekers, are generally not allowed to participate in internships. In both contexts, however, a lack of opportunities motivates or pushes migrants to participate in unpaid opportunities to gain labor market experiences, often as volunteers. However, the lack of other opportunities takes the voluntariness out of volunteering and turns it into a more instrumentally motivated unpaid activity that migrants participate in, partly because of false or exaggerated promises that it will eventually enhance their labor market position. Data Availability Statement The data are not publicly available due to ethical, legal, or other concerns. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research was funded by the Horizon 2020 SIRIUS Project (reference: 770515). ORCID iDs Ilona Bontenbal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9759-089X Francesca Calo https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4755-3959 Tom Montgomery https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5996-6043 Note 1. 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Her research focuses on the inclusion of migrants, the migration and development nexus, and social remittances. She was the main Finnish team project researcher on the EU H2020-funded project SIRIUS (Skills and Integration of Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Applicants in European Labour Markets), focusing on the labor market integration of migrants. Most recently, she has been working on a project by the Finnish Military Defense that looks into the perception and experiences that migrants have of conscript military service. Dr Francesca Calo is a lecturer in management at the Department of Public Leadership & Social Enterprise, Faculty of Business and Law, the Open University. Prior to joining the Open University, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Yunus Center for Social Business and Health, working as a researcher and a project manager at the EU H2020-funded project SIRIUS and a research fellow at CERGAS Bocconi University. Dr Tom Montgomery is a lecturer in politics and a research fellow at the Yunus Center for Social Business and Health, at Glasgow Caledonian University. His research focuses on issues of labor market policy, solidarity, social movements, and civil society. He was the United Kingdom team researcher for the Horizon 2020 funded project “TransSOL” (Transnational Solidarity in Times of Crisis), which examined the attitudes and practices of solidarity across eight European countries with the unemployed/precariously employed, disabled people and migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. He has also been conducting research as part of the Horizon 2020-funded project SIRIUS. Professor Simone Baglioni joined the University of Parma in 2020 as chair in sociology. Prior to that, he has been a professor at Glasgow Caledonian University, United Kingdom, and has worked at various other universities (Geneva, Neuchatel, Florence, and Milan-Bocconi). Professor Baglioni has extensively researched issues related to migration, asylum, employment/ labor markets, civil society, and social movements. He was the coordinator of the Horizon 2020 project SIRIUS (2018–2020) and a principal investigator in the EU Horizon 2020 projects MATILDE (2020–2022), both focusing on migration issues.