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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the key issues related to migrant workers, work, public policy and HRM while introducing the five articles included in the special issue. Design/methodology/approach - The paper reports on the issue which is made up of articles that present research based on surveys, interviews and longitudinal census data. Findings - It is evident that high-performing economies attract migrants from lower-performing economies. However, with influxes of migrant labour there are a number of challenges that need to be met at the organisational and policy levels. Research limitations/implications - The indications are that some economies are beginning to slow and this means that migrant flows will also slow or reverse. The implications for migrant-dependent sectors and countries are not clear, although all five papers indicate areas for further research. Practical implications - Each article includes practical implications depending on the sector, skill and country being examined. Practical implications include the role of day labour centres as HR mediators between organisations and employees, the need for culturally sensitive and tailored training programs to assist professional migrants and the need for policies geared towards the assimilation of migrants and return migrants in order to assist their integration into the labour market. Originality/value - The five articles presented here represent a wide range of approaches, skill levels and sectors within the five counties examined: the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, and Finland. Some, such as the US paper which includes the first national survey of day labour worker centres, present findings from a highly under-represented area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of short training in self-management skills on employees' efficacious beliefs and skills across cultures. Design/methodology/approach - A longitudinal pre-post field investigation repeated measures analysis is used to compare the effectiveness of the self-management training between employees from Australia (individualistic country) and Kenya (collectivistic country). Findings - The results suggest that there is a significant improvement in the learning of skiils and efficacious beliefs post-training (24 weeks). However, there are no significant differences in improvement between the two cultures and the training is similarly effective in both cultures. Research limitations/implications - Training focus is based on previous research that is primarily individual focused and further studies need to explore the training ethos. The assessments are developed for the study and need further examination to test their reliability and validity in other contexts. The individualistic and collectivistic criteria are drawn from Hofstede's work and may need further investigation as Hofstede's sample size of the Kenyan population is small. Finally, the results are unique to retail banking. Originality/value - The effectiveness of this low-cost training for enhancing employee efficacy has positive organisational outcomes, especially for those that have a multicultural workforce. It may be particularly useful for organisations in developing countries where cost is of concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]