Nations across the world and through time have used skilled migration mechanisms to boost economic growth and workforce competitiveness. However, effectively using these talents from abroad and transforming this collective human capital into valuable social capital is an on-going challenge. This study applies a case study analysis of skilled migrants from China and India in South Australia and finds that there are multiple barriers to the successful integration of skilled migrants. These barriers tend to block the effective utilization of migrants’ skills and reduce the ability to advance social capital in the community. The study concludes by putting forward various policy recommendations to overcome these obstacles and outlines ideas for an effective application of a skilled migrant programme. © 2016 The Authors. International Migration © 2016 IOM

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international migration labor migration China competitiveness skilled labor social capital Australia India economic growth South Australia human capital