Skill mismatch of Indigenous peoples in Canada: Findings from PIAAC

Using the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (Canadian sample) the paper examines overskilling among Indigenous off-reserve peoples and compares the outcomes to the other Canadian born. We construct several measures of skill mismatch in literacy and numeracy finding no statistically significant difference between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadian-born populations. In general, skill mismatch has pernicious consequences for the mismatched workers, and our results support previous literature, which found no evidence of economic discrimination of Canadian aboriginals after controlling for their skill level and standard socio-demographic characteristics.