Amin Niazai was a leading forest ecology and climate change scientist from Afghanistan but in Australia, he is forced to work as an intern. (Supplied)
Few people have a CV as impressive as Amin Niazai.
Key points:New census data reveals that migrants have an average higher level of education than people born in Australia
Many migrants struggle to find work or are employed well below their education levels
Skilled professional migrant training courses are not widely available in Australia
The 35-year-old Afghan-born Melburnian is a forest ecology and climate change scientist with a master's degree and a PhD from Kyoto University in Japan.
He led climate change adaptation and natural resource management in Afghanistan and headed projects for international groups including the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, the US Department of Agriculture and AusAid.
He is fluent in four languages.
But in Australia, Dr Niazai has struggled to find work in his field.
New census data released this month revealed that on average, migrants like Dr Niazai have a higher level of education than people born in Australia, but many are employed well below their education levels or struggle to find work at all.
The census results released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed more Australians than ever were continuing their studies with more than 11 million holding vocational or tertiary qualifications. That's a 20 per cent increase since 2016.
While 56 per cent of people born in Australia had post-school qualifications, this number jumped to 63 per cent for those born overseas and 82 per cent for Australians born in India and Bangladesh.
Educated migrants face a 'frustrating' search for work
In Afghanistan, Dr Niazai's dream was to stop the degradation and desertification of Afghan forests and transform landscapes ravaged by years of drought to replenish food resources and livelihoods of local communities.
But that dream was destroyed in October last year when the Taliban takeover forced him to flee to Australia.
His family has settled well, the children have started school and they have made a lot of friends in the local community.
But after seven months of searching for work, Dr Niazai is about to start a three-month internship with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
Dr Niazai said he was excited by this opportunity, but it was a big step down in his career.
"It's kind of frustrating for a person like me when you were working in top management positions with many years of important research and work that has been published in one of the top-quality journals in the world," Dr Niazai said.
"But still, I think it's a great opportunity. It can help me get some rewarding experience, build networking and professional connections and learn about workplace customs, workplace culture.
"I think this opportunity will help me to reignite my professional career."
Barriers skilled migrants face
Eddy Ng, a professor of organisational behaviour, led a study that interviewed skilled migrants on their experience in Australia for James Cook University.
He identified some key barriers that made finding a job difficult.
First, there was a general distrust of overseas qualifications.
"Despite vetting and the government saying this qualification is equivalent," Professor Ng said employers were more likely to consider candidates who had studied at universities they were familiar with.
Secondly, "word of mouth is important", so without a network of "social capital", it was hard to find opportunities, Professor Ng said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also shifted employment opportunities, creating a greater need within service and hospitality industries rather than skilled jobs.
However, Australia's skilled worker visa program means that many migrants are searching for higher levels of employment, creating a "mismatch in the labour market", Professor Ng said.
The federal government has announced an additional 35,000 permanent skilled migrants will be able to apply for visas this year in an attempt to address critical skills shortages.
Most employees will also favour applicants that have similar interests to their own, often without even knowing it.
"When you volunteer information that is not required [such as hobbies and interests] it may actually put you out of the contest by virtue of perceived lack of fit, even though you may have the qualifications," Professor Ng told the ABC.
He said electronic screening systems that only extract information pertinent to the job can give migrants a much better opportunity to demonstrate their skills.
Training and education about the job search process and cultural nuances —such as handshakes or eye contact that can give vastly different impressions from one culture to another — are also crucial.
"Knowing how to engage in a job search process, knowing what to put on your resume, even how we search for jobs, all those things matter," Professor Ng said.
He said migrants that arrive at a younger age have advantages in this area. They have time to be "socialised" to Australian ways and often gain at least one local qualification.
Younger migrants often gain at least one Australian qualification.
(Reuters: Jason Reed)
Volunteer work can help bridge the gap
Professor Ng said opportunities to gain that Australian experience, such as volunteering or joining local community groups, can make a big difference.
While looking for work, Dr Niazai did just that.
Volunteering with a group called Wyntree at Wyndham, he helped create a "tiny forest" — densely-packed native bushland the size of a tennis court.
Built in urban areas, tiny forests work as carbon sinks, helping to combat climate change and increase greenery.
Despite restarting his career well below his skill level, Dr Niazai was very positive about his future in Australia and hopes he can help to "integrate science into our projects, policies and strategies".
But he also dreams of one day being able to help people struggling with drought and poverty in Afghanistan.
"I still dream that one day we will go back when we have peace and stability and we will rebuild the country," he said.
Volunteer work can help bridge the gap
Professor Ng said opportunities to gain that Australian experience, such as volunteering or joining local community groups, can make a big difference.
While looking for work, Dr Niazai did just that.
Volunteering with a group called Wyntree at Wyndham, he helped create a "tiny forest" — densely-packed native bushland the size of a tennis court.
Built in urban areas, tiny forests work as carbon sinks, helping to combat climate change and increase greenery.
Despite restarting his career well below his skill level, Dr Niazai was very positive about his future in Australia and hopes he can help to "integrate science into our projects, policies and strategies".
But he also dreams of one day being able to help people struggling with drought and poverty in Afghanistan.
"I still dream that one day we will go back when we have peace and stability and we will rebuild the country," he said.
Drought has ravaged much of Afghanistan, leaving millions starving and living in poverty.(AFP: Hoshang Hashimi)
While Mr Niazai said the resettlement process in Australia was good, there was a lack of specialised employment transition assistance.
"There are agencies here that can mentor you but not for people that are a little bit higher level," he said.
He said there are programs that help with CV preparation and interviews but there was nothing to help migrants connect with potential employers.
Managing expectations
Settlement support agency AMES Australia do run such a program, but, with limited funding, numbers of participants are also limited.
The Skilled Professional Migrant Program is a short course, which includes mentoring, coaching, career counselling and networking, explained AMES chief executive Catherine Scarth.
While Mr Niazai said the resettlement process in Australia was good, there was a lack of specialised employment transition assistance.
"There are agencies here that can mentor you but not for people that are a little bit higher level," he said.
He said there are programs that help with CV preparation and interviews but there was nothing to help migrants connect with potential employers.
Managing expectations
Settlement support agency AMES Australia do run such a program, but, with limited funding, numbers of participants are also limited.
The Skilled Professional Migrant Program is a short course, which includes mentoring, coaching, career counselling and networking, explained AMES chief executive Catherine Scarth.
Ms Scarth said the AMES Australia programs have been successful for many migrants.(ABC News: Erwin Renaldi)
The four-week course pairs people with a mentor from their chosen profession.
They also partner with corporate organisations that conduct role-playing for interviews, look over CVs and help jobseekers understand what Australian employees are looking for.
"It gets fantastic results, something like 80 per cent of people find work after the program," Ms Scarf said, adding that ideally such courses should be made available to all arriving skilled migrants through government programs.
But Ms Scarth said it was also important to manage expectations.
"When people first arrive they probably have a kind of over-optimistic view about getting a job at the same level that they left home at very quickly," she said.
"So it's also just helping people to understand and think about what pathways there might be to get into those professions again, not necessarily thinking that the only way is to start at where they left off."
For refugees, who often flee their homes overnight with few if any possessions, there are other layers of complexity, Ms Scarth said, including barriers around qualification recognition and language levels.
"This is where you get the old adage of the doctor or the engineer driving the taxi, and we see that all the time," she said.
The dark side of the skilled sponsorship scheme
Many onshore skilled migrants who have experienced exploitation at work are urging the government to provide them better protections.
In such cases, it can be helpful to find jobs in related fields, such as medical professionals finding jobs in aged care.
"At least in that case, they can see a pathway to getting back into the medical profession, rather than working in a factory or driving a taxi or whatever it might be."
Ms Scarth said it was also important for employers to recognise the benefits diversity can bring to their businesses.
"If you want to build up your export market, or you're wanting to start to do business with other countries, then clearly you're going to not only have an incredibly skilled and dedicated resilient worker, but you're potentially getting a whole series of additional skills around language and cultural understanding," she said.
"If we employ people who all think the same, then we're only going to look at the problem in the same way."
The four-week course pairs people with a mentor from their chosen profession.
They also partner with corporate organisations that conduct role-playing for interviews, look over CVs and help jobseekers understand what Australian employees are looking for.
"It gets fantastic results, something like 80 per cent of people find work after the program," Ms Scarf said, adding that ideally such courses should be made available to all arriving skilled migrants through government programs.
But Ms Scarth said it was also important to manage expectations.
"When people first arrive they probably have a kind of over-optimistic view about getting a job at the same level that they left home at very quickly," she said.
"So it's also just helping people to understand and think about what pathways there might be to get into those professions again, not necessarily thinking that the only way is to start at where they left off."
For refugees, who often flee their homes overnight with few if any possessions, there are other layers of complexity, Ms Scarth said, including barriers around qualification recognition and language levels.
"This is where you get the old adage of the doctor or the engineer driving the taxi, and we see that all the time," she said.
The dark side of the skilled sponsorship scheme
Many onshore skilled migrants who have experienced exploitation at work are urging the government to provide them better protections.
In such cases, it can be helpful to find jobs in related fields, such as medical professionals finding jobs in aged care.
"At least in that case, they can see a pathway to getting back into the medical profession, rather than working in a factory or driving a taxi or whatever it might be."
Ms Scarth said it was also important for employers to recognise the benefits diversity can bring to their businesses.
"If you want to build up your export market, or you're wanting to start to do business with other countries, then clearly you're going to not only have an incredibly skilled and dedicated resilient worker, but you're potentially getting a whole series of additional skills around language and cultural understanding," she said.
"If we employ people who all think the same, then we're only going to look at the problem in the same way."
No comments:
Post a Comment