Converting experiences in ‘communities of practice’: ‘educational’ migration in Denmark and achievements of Ukrainian agricultural apprentices

Abstract

This article looks at ‘educational’ migration instigated by the Danish programme of agricultural apprenticeships, which since the late 1990s has brought many young Ukrainians to rural Denmark. It discusses discrepancies between the logic of achievement implied by the programme’s ideology on the one hand, and Ukrainian apprentices’ aspirations to social mobility on the other hand. In this way, the article questions the concept of ‘community of practice’ that has been used to describe the formation of a social persona sharing the values of this community. Using ethnographic case studies of former apprentices, I argue that while apprenticeships often fail to produce a shared social and professional identity within a community of practice, there are many ways in which the experiences afforded by Danish apprenticeships lead to (sometimes unforeseen) achievements.

Keywords:

• apprenticeship
• achievement
• mobility
• community of practice
• Ukraine

Notes

1. ‘Apprenticeships to be the “new norm”, says David Cameron’. 11 March 2013. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21734560.

2. In the early 2000s, there were 500–700 Ukrainian apprentices arriving every year; their number rose to 2400 in 2007–08 and this figure had then halved by 2011. Source: Statistics from Danish Agency for Labour Retention and International Recruitment.

3. From 1996 to 2000, the number of Danish pupils at Danish agricultural schools required to undergo 18 months of apprenticeship had fallen by 40%. In 2005, two foreign farm apprentices were employed for each Danish one (Larsen 2010, 91).

4. http://www.ugebreveta4.dk/2005/10/Baggrundoganalyse/Landbrugetforetraekkerosteuropaeiskarbejdkraft.aspx. Accessed 8 June 2013. Formal conditions of apprenticeship are the same for both EU and non-EU citizens: a 37 hour working week and monthly net cash payments of around 6.500–7.0000 Danish krones.

5. I personally talked to three female apprentices, but learned about many others.

6. Insights into Ukrainian apprentices’ experiences have also been gained from social media sites (e.g. Facebook and chat rooms).

7. I was told about this by my Turkish, Egyptian, Iranian and Syrian informants, as well as colleagues from different universities in Odessa in 2005–2013. See also, Osipian (2007), and ‘Iran rejects Ukrainian medical universities’ diplomas’ (2011).

8. Promotional material disseminated by Odessa Agricultural University, March 2013, by the recruiter Tarasiuk S.V. from the Zhitomir region, Ukraine.

9. Ukrainian recruiters are required by Ukrainian law to have a special licence to employ people abroad and agricultural apprenticeships in Denmark are defined as ‘work abroad’. There are multiple ways around this requirement, from ‘illegal’ (i.e. unlicensed) practices to recruitment via organisations like a ‘youth trade union’ and international volunteer organisations’.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Vera Skvirskaja

VERA SKVIRSKAJA is a Research Fellow at the Department of Anthropology, Copenhagen University.