Structural labour shortages have increased demand for skilled and documented migrant workers in Western European labour markets. In response, private recruitment agencies are playing a more significant role in the identification, placement and integration of migrant workers. While the literature on labour intermediation practices has largely focused on the commercial and contractual work of matching workers with employers, this article develops an embedded understanding of labour intermediation that foregrounds the increasingly social and relational nature of intermediation practices in contexts of labour shortage. Through a qualitative study of intermediation in the Belgian construction sector, the article demonstrates the ways in which private agencies seek to produce the ‘right candidate’ through (i) the infiltration of migrant networks, (ii) the regularisation of migrant workers and (iii) the facilitation of their integration into host societies. These findings advance an expanded understanding of labour intermediation that transcends the conventional matchmaking process.

中文翻译：

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培养“合适的候选人”：比利时建筑行业移民工人劳动力市场中介的社会嵌入


结构性劳动力短缺增加了西欧劳动力市场对熟练和有证件的移民工人的需求。对此，私营招聘机构在农民工的识别、安置和融入方面发挥着更加重要的作用。虽然有关劳动力中介实践的文献主要集中在为工人与雇主牵线搭桥的商业和合同工作上，但本文对劳动力中介进行了深入的理解，突出了劳动力短缺背景下中介实践日益增长的社会性和关系性。通过对比利时建筑行业中介的定性研究，本文展示了私营机构通过以下方式寻求产生“合适候选人”的方式：（i）移民网络的渗透，（ii）移民工人的正规化以及（iii） ) 促进他们融入东道国社会。这些发现促进了对超越传统婚介过程的劳动力中介的更广泛的理解。