Research consistently shows that migrants are far more likely than natives to report being under skilled—defined as needing additional skills to perform their jobs (Pellizzari & Fichen, 2013). Moreover, individuals who experience workplace discrimination are also more likely to report being under or over skilled, indicating that discriminatory environments distort job placement and restrict access to skill development (Rafferty, 2020). Under skilling is therefore not merely a skills deficit but also a marker of injustice: for migrants, self reported under skilling often reflects structural barriers and experienced discrimination rather than personal shortcomings. In Norway, labour immigration plays a crucial role, with immigrants composing over 20% of the active workforce. Yet, the Norwegian labour market demands high skill levels: more than half of all jobs require at least short term tertiary education (OECD, 2022). While most native born workers hold high skilled positions, immigrants remain concentrated in low and medium skilled jobs (OECD, 2022). Norway is therefore not exempt from global patterns described by labour market segmentation, discrimination, and social justice theories: migrants continue to experience documented discrimination that affects employment access and outcomes (Ims, 2024). Although the Nordic model offers a distinctive institutional framework, research suggests that it mitigates but does not eliminate inequalities. Studies report that while training access is broader in the Nordic context, it cannot fully counter structural disadvantages, high skill thresholds, and ongoing discriminatory practices (Birgier, Guðmundsdóttir & Brynteson, 2025). As a result, interpersonal and institutional discrimination persist and continue to shape migrants’ perceptions of justice at work. Against this backdrop, the present study examines how under skilled migrant workers perceive their skills development opportunities, justice at work, and discrimination, and compares these findings with those of migrants who do not report being under skilled. The analysis draws on data from the Norwegian sample of the Horizon Europe project Skills4Justice. Our survey (n = 251) includes labour migrants from 72 non EU27 countries across six continents, primarily Asia and Europe, collected online in autumn 2025. Under skilling, skills development opportunities, justice at work, and discrimination are all based on migrants’ self reports. Preliminary findings indicate that although under skilled workers generally report good access to skills development opportunities at work, they rate these opportunities lower than non under skilled workers. While a majority in both groups experienced justice at work and non discrimination, under skilled migrants reported significantly higher levels of injustice and discrimination than their non under skilled counterparts

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