Employment

Finding employment is one of the highest priorities for refugees resettling in Australia. Despite their eagerness to participate in the Australian workforce and the wealth of skills and experience that they bring, refugee and humanitarian entrants are overrepresented among the ranks of underemployed, lowly-paid, low-skilled, precariously employed and casualised members of the labour force. Gaining stable, adequately-remunerated, fulfilling employment is a significant contributor towards successful resettlement for refugees and humanitarian entrants.

Refugee and humanitarian entrants face many specific barriers to employment. These include:

• English proficiency – Research suggests there is a direct correlation between levels of English proficiency, labour market participation rates and income, with those with limited English (both written and spoken) more likely to be unemployed or in lower income brackets.

• Lack of Australian work experience – Many employers do not recognise overseas work experience and require applicants to demonstrate they have had experience in like-employment in Australia, but new arrivals struggle to get the entry-level jobs that will allow them to gain that experience.

• Lack of access to transport and affordable housing close to employment – As accommodation costs and housing shortages force refugee entrants to live further and further away from employment opportunities, educational facilities and other amenities, the need for a readily accessible, efficient form of transportation is vital. The lack of safe, efficient and affordable public transport in outer metropolitan and regional areas is a major barrier in accessing employment opportunities, particularly where the types of occupations in which refugee and humanitarian entrants are initially being employed (such as industrial cleaning or factory work) require them to work at times when it is frequently impossible to access public transport.

• Lack of knowledge of Australian workplace systems and culture – Studies have found that a lack of knowledge of Australian workplace culture and systems can be a barrier to both finding and sustaining employment. For example, Australian employers expect prospective employees to “sell” themselves and their experience in interviews, which can run counter to the values and norms of some cultural communities who are socialised to value modesty and to defer to authority.

• Pressure to juggle employment and domestic responsibilities – Just as in the overwhelming majority of Australian households, the responsibility for undertaking caring and household duties among refugees and humanitarian entrants tends to fall disproportionately to women. This is especially so when it comes to providing primary care for children, infirm and elderly relatives, and in the context of families migrating without extended family members who may otherwise have provided such care (e.g. grandparents).

• Lack of targeted services to support employment transitions – Generalist employment services have been found to be ineffective in supporting this target group of job-seekers.

• The refugee experience and resettlement – Past experiences of torture and trauma, destitution and extended periods of time living in refugee camps can and do give rise to profound physical and psychosocial impacts that may mean pressure to engage in paid employment soon after arrival can compound trauma and make settlement even more difficult. As a result of their experiences, many former refugees have developed chronic physical and mental health problems that impact adversely on their capacity to maintain acceptable forms of employment within the context of the Australian labour market.

• Discrimination in employment – Discrimination including structural and interpersonal racism has been identified as a profound barrier to refugee and humanitarian entrants finding and sustaining employment.

• Difficulties with recognition of skills, qualifications andexperience – Prohibitive costs for bridging courses and supplementary examinations, and overly complex processes and structures across national and state regulatory bodies prevent overseas qualifications and experience from being recognised.

• Lack of qualifications – While many refugee and humanitarian entrants were occupationally well-established prior to arriving in Australia, others have not had the opportunities to attain qualifications and employment experience due to the nature of their migration experience. In particular, individuals who were born or spent protracted periods of time in refugee camps, have been detained, or have been in constant transition between countries of residence, are unlikely to have had opportunities to undertake formal education and training of the variety that is considered useful in the Australian job market.

• The Australian labour market and disadvantage – Like all Australians attempting to secure stable, decently-remunerated employment, refugee and humanitarian entrants are confronting a domestic employment landscape that is markedly different from that of previous generations. These changes include an increase in precariousness of employment attributed, among other things, to: growing casualisation, the demise of collective bargaining, reduced award conditions, and less protection against unfair dismissal, as well as the global financial crisis and reductions in blue collar manufacturing jobs.

For more information and links to employment research, see our Settlement Resources page.