Interplay of Agency and Structure on Upskilling: A Case of Filipino Migrant Nurses in the UAE

ABSTRACT With an increased number of migrant nurses from the Global South to the North, the deskilling of migrant nurses has been a problem. While previous research has predominantly focused on deskilling, this research focuses on the upskilling of Filipino migrant nurses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The morphogenetic cycle has been adopted to explore how structural factors interplay with agencies of Filipino migrant nurses related to the upskilling process. Findings demonstrate that Filipino migrant nurses who majored in nursing due to external factors, such as parental pressure or social trends, tend to improve their professional and soft skills after migrating to the UAE, which offers abundant resources, thereby demonstrating their agency. Furthermore, migrant nurses developed a positive perception of themselves, actively recommending migration to those around them, while also voicing their criticisms of the Filipino medical system. This research demonstrates how agents and structures interact in relation to the upskilling of migrant nurses, providing clues as to how the phenomenon of labor migration perpetuates.