Since the mid-1980s, career transitions have become increasingly complex, often intertwining with challenges in other life domains such as family, health, leisure, mobility, and social integration. For people who have migrated, career transitions can be particularly demanding, with obstacles like diploma non-recognition, language barriers, and discrimination. These obstacles can lead to an involuntary career change (ICC), which may trigger occupational downgrading and income reduction, thus jeopardizing their careers and social integration. Drawing on life course approach, we address the long-term trajectories of migrant people forced to change careers and the interplay between their career transition and other life domains. A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted with five individuals undergoing ICC following migration to Switzerland, with each participant interviewed four times over 3.5 years. Trajectory-based thematic analysis was used to identify within-person evolutions and shared trajectory patterns. Findings revealed diverse ICC experiences, ranging from regaining to losing control over one’s career. Participants exhibited both linear and non-linear interdependence patterns across their life domains, in particular between family and professional domains. These results emphasize the need for both systemic and extended career counseling that accounts for the multifaceted challenges faced by individuals who have migrated and track their diversified career trajectories.

In the context of increasingly complex migratory flows and professional integration challenges, this presentation examines the professional integration of refugees in Switzerland, focusing on provisionally admitted individuals whose stay is rarely temporary. Using a qualitative methodology based on a psychosocial approach, we examine the interplay of macro-, meso-, and micro-level factors shaping vocational choices and career trajectories.

At the macrolevel, a documentary analysis explores the evolution of integration policies and their influence on refugees’ access to the labor market—an issue at the forefront of current policy debates. At the mesolevel, semi-structured interviews shed light on the dilemmas social workers face in balancing institutional demands with individualized support. At the microlevel, narrative interviews reveal systemic barriers and resource gaps that hinder refugees’ ability to build meaningful career paths.

This study directly addresses the symposium's key questions by exploring how structural constraints, societal representations, and professional practices intersect to shape vocational choices. It highlights the strategies refugees and their counselors employ to navigate the tensions between individual aspirations and labor market demands, and offers actionable insights into creating more fair and sensitive guidance practices to better support this vulnerable population’s career development.

This article explores the tensions arising from implementing integration policy in Switzerland. Relying mainly on the experiences and perceptions of 23 street-level bureaucrats (SLB) and 29 refugees in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland, it identifies the dynamics at work during the process of integration, in particular how the focus on quick labor market integration of refugees, shapes both refugees’ integration tra-jectories and SLBs understanding of their role and function. The article closely examines the tensions experienced on both sides; among others, these spring from expecting “fast” integration. It finds that SLBs strive to ensure “fast and sustainable integration” by promoting rapid access to vocational training and employment. This approach often causes friction between SLBs, who recognize the shortcomings of this approach without seriously challenging it, and refugees, who either adapt to the expectations of “fast and sustainable integration” or rely on their own resources to gain support for their more ambitious projects.

Refugees often face the challenge of having their previous qualifications disregarded, disrupting their career aspirations (Udayar et al., 2021; Wehrle et al., 2018). In Switzerland, university access is largely blocked, and entering the labour market depends on vocational qualifications. To support access to VET, the Swiss government established the PAI programme, a one-year pre-vocational programme for refugees and late-arriving migrants (Aerne & Bonoli, 2021; Kammermann et al., 2022). The programme is occupation-oriented, equipping participants with academic, practical, and transferable skills to prepare them for an apprenticeship. This presentation examines whether refugees see VET as a desirable pathway, given that in many countries, it holds low status (Billett et al., 2022). Using data from the national PAI study (2019–2025; N=4733) (Stalder et al., 2024; Stalder & Schönbächler, 2024), we explore how career aspirations are shaped by participants' asylum status, age, and family responsibilities, their PAI learning experiences, and the career support they received. Findings show that many refugees have high aspirations. While some wish to remain in their PAI occupational field, others seek further education. Coaches, trainers, and teachers play a key role in guiding them. Overall, the PAI successfully engages refugees in VET and opens career pathways.