https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017016658437 Work, employment and society 2017, Vol. 31(5) 851–860 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0950017016658437 journals.sagepub.com/home/wes Global nursing and the lived experience of migration intermediaries Diane van den Broek The University of Sydney, Australia Dimitria Groutsis The University of Sydney, Australia Abstract Discussion of skilled migration often focuses on skill shortages and global labour market trends, with little attention directed to the individual experiences of the migrants themselves. ‘Divina’ is a migrant nurse who left her home country of the Philippines to gain work in Australia. In the process of this migration, Divina was drawn into a complex web of co-ethnic relationships with migration intermediaries that shaped much of her experiences with respect to entry and employment in Australia. Her story highlights how migration intermediaries can exacerbate the precarious and vulnerable position of skilled migrants. The dangers are particularly striking for those migrating from non-English-speaking and/or developing nations, where vulnerabilities can be entrenched by ‘trusting’ co-ethnic relations forged between sending and receiving countries. Keywords co-ethnic exploitation, lived experience, migration intermediaries, narratives, precariousness, skilled migration, trans-national, trust Introduction Despite the ‘avalanche of writings on globalization in all its forms’ we still lack more micro-level, phenomenological studies of the everyday reality of global mobility (Favell et al., 2006; Van Manen, 1984). Demographic reports, indicating historical and contemporary trends of global mobility (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Corresponding author: Diane van den Broek, Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies, Business School, The University of Sydney, Rm 4183, Building H70, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Email: diane.vandenbroek@sydney.edu.au 658437WES 0 0 10.1177/0950017016658437Work, employment and societyvan den Broek and Groutsis research-article 2016 On the front line