Predictors of employment status: A study of former refugee communities in Australia (original) (raw)
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Settlement of people from refugee backgrounds has been largely discussed in Australia because of critical social issues affecting the integration of newly emerged community such as the South Sudanese community. This research paper has taken one-step back to at looks the benefits of employment in settlement context of refugees using the case study of the South Sudanese community in Melbourne, Australia. The aim of this research was to provide an understanding of the benefits of employment on different forms of capitals that can assist refugees to overcome settlement challenges. These five capitals or benefits are economic capital, social capital, the cultural and psychological capital. This research was conducted through in-depth interviews with 20 participants from the South Sudanese community in Melbourne, Australia with refugee backgrounds. Participants were given taken thetime totell their settlement experiences, the level of participation in employment and benefits of employment to them and their families with duration range between 45 minutes to 60 minutes. Major findings confirmed that participation of refugees in employment assists them to access important benefits of economic capital, social capital, cultural and psychological capital, which they can accumulate through employment.
Australasian Review of African Studies, 2016, 37(2), 107-128 , 2016
This article critically examines the settlement experiences of South Sudanese people from refugee backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia, with a particular focus on unemployment and barriers to employment. Drawing on extensive primary data collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 South Sudanese Australians, the article demonstrates how unemployment features centrally in participants' narratives and appreciation of their settlement in Australia. Participants relate unemployment to issues such as social isolation, family breakdown, and intergenerational conflict, and foreground discrimination as a key barrier to employment. We reflect on these findings by discussing suggestions for future policy and practice in the area of refugee settlement and employment.
Employment Aspirations of Former Refugees Settled in Australia: a Mixed Methods Study
Journal of International Migration and Immigration, 2018
The present study used a mixed method approach to understand the employment related aspirations of former refugees from Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Myanmar, resettled in Australia. Aspiration was defined as the difference between the current and future aspired job. First, a quantitative approach was used with 222 participants, who completed a questionnaire with the help of interpreters. Analysis of variance was used to examine if the aspirations varied on the basis of the country of origin. Participants from DRC and Myanmar had higher aspirations than those from Ethiopia. Graphic data indicated that in general all three groups aspired for professional and managerial jobs. Second, using a qualitative approach, 47 former refugees from these three countries were interviewed. Thematic analysis indicated that, in general, many participants wanted to pursue their own business. Moreover, a range of obstacles in achieving these goals also became apparent. Limited English language proficiency, lack of information about how to secure these jobs, and personal and family members' ill health interfered in participants' ability to secure their aspired job. Lastly, we offer a few recommendations for relevant stakeholders.
How Refugees Experience the Australian Workplace: A Comparative Mixed Methods Study
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
There is a growing body of evidence indicating poorer working conditions for migrant workers, particularly refugees, compared with native-born workers. Our objectives were to compare exposure to workplace psychosocial stressors in working refugees with other migrant groups and Australian-born workers of Caucasian ancestry and to describe the working experience of refugees. Cross-sectional surveys collected information on the workplace stressors of job complexity, control, security, bullying, and racial discrimination from six migrant groups (n = 1062) and Caucasian Australians (n = 1051); semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used with currently employed refugees (n = 30). Content analysis examined the qualitative data. Compared to all other groups, working refugees were more likely to report experiencing racial discrimination in the workplace and to report exposure to more than three hazards. Content analysis indicated that working refugees are working below their capacity, ...
Refugees' Opportunities and Barriers in Employment and Training
2002
Thanks to the 400 people who gave their time to be interviewed for this study and the community representatives who facilitated the study by acting as gatekeepers to members of their own community. Thanks to Gaby Atfield for all her hard work on the project, ...
This article presents findings from an exploratory survey aimed to identify predictors of employment for Sudanese, Somali, and Congolese former refugees living in the greater Brisbane area in 2009-2010. Quantitative data was collected from 56 participants (25 employed and 31 unemployed men and women). We found that only spoken English language proficiency increased the odds of being employed. Interestingly, we found no statistical significance between employment and demographics (i.e., age, gender, or marital status), length of residence in Australia, time spent in refugee camps, English proficiency (reading, writing or numeracy), or level of education. We discuss the implications of these findings and suggest improvements to policies along with ways to assist refugee employment.
BMC Public Health, 2019
Background: People from refugee backgrounds face various challenges after moving to a new country. Successfully securing employment has been linked to positive health outcomes in refugee populations; there is less research into the impact of volunteering on health outcomes in refugees, or the role of employment and volunteering in regional or rural communities. This study aims to explore how employment and volunteering influences the health and wellbeing of refugees settled in regional Australia, and identify areas for appropriate service provision. Methods: Nine adults of refugee background in regional Australia were purposively sampled through community organisations using word-of-mouth referrals for semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to uncover emergent themes and identify relationships between themes. A strengths-based theoretical framework was adopted to inform further analysis. Results: Paid work and volunteering engenders a sense of self-fulfillment and sense of belonging, facilitating successful integration into a new community. Employment further allows maintenance of an adequate standard of living, thus improving healthcare access and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours. Adverse effects from employment include difficulties managing work-life balance, disconnect with family and loss of traditional heritage, but these were significantly outweighed by the positive effects. Volunteering provides no financial incentive, but similarly promotes community connections and positive self-worth, preparing refugees for the workforce. Both employment and volunteering held direct positive benefits for their physical and mental health, improved healthcare access and promoted cultural and social integration. These factors enabled successful settlement and subsequently improved overall wellbeing of participants. A strengths-based approach demonstrated how participants used employment as a tool for seeking purpose and ongoing self-development.
Telling Our Stories: Resilience during Resettlement for African Skilled Migrants in Australia
2021
Background: Emigration to Australia by people from Africa has grown steadily in the past two decades, with skilled migration an increasingly significant component of migration streams. Challenges to resettlement in Australia by African migrants have been identified, including difficulties securing employment, experiences of racism, discrimination and social isolation. These challenges can negatively impact resettlement outcomes, including health and wellbeing. There has been limited research that has examined protective and resilience factors that help highly skilled African migrants mitigate the aforementioned challenges in Australia. This paper discusses how individual and community resilience factors supported successful resettlement Africans in Australia. The paper is contextualised within a larger study which sought to investigate how belonging and identity inform Afrodiasporic experiences of Africans in Australia. Methods: A qualitative inquiry was conducted with twenty-seven ...
International Migration, 2007
ABSTRACTThis paper explores the effects of “visible difference” on employment outcomes of three recently arrived refugee2 groups: ex‐Yugoslavs, black Africans, and people from the Middle East. The paper draws on data collected through a survey (150 questionnaire‐based face‐to‐face interviews conducted by bilingual interviewers) of refugees who settled in Western Australia over the past decade. Results indicate different outcomes for respondents from the three backgrounds despite similar levels of human capital and similar length of residence. Our evidence supports a “political economy of labour migration” interpretation for the differential outcomes, based on both structural and interpersonal racism, rather than a neo‐classical explanation which holds that the job market is “blind to ethnicity”. Despite high unemployment and loss of occupational status, predominantly highly educated refugees were relatively satisfied with their lives in Australia.