Spoken English does matter: Findings from an exploratory study to identify predictors of employment among African refugees in Brisbane (original) (raw)
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Predictors of employment status: A study of former refugee communities in Australia
Australian Psychologist, 2019
Objective: There is substantial evidence that refugees' employment experiences are marred by a range of hurdles as they settle in their host country. This study investigated the relationship between a range of independent variables such as, demographic factors, acculturation, acculturative stress, and resilience and the dependent variable that is the employment status of former refugees. Method: Questionnaire data were gathered from 169 participants from the Ethiopian, Congolese, and Myanmar communities settled in Brisbane, Australia. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to investigate the factors that predicted employment status. Results: Resilience and demographic variables such as age, education, gender, and country of origin were not associated with being employed. Length of stay and English proficiency increased the likelihood of being employed. Surprisingly, an increase in acculturation was associated with the likelihood of being unemployed, while an increase in acculturative stress was associated with the likelihood of being employed. Conclusions: These findings indicate that unemployed participants perceived themselves to be acculturated and integrated, while those who were employed reported more acculturative stress. Furthermore, employment despite its positive impact can also be stressful. The study has practical and theoretical implications for stakeholders involved in the employment of refugees.
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.
English skills and early labour market integration: Evidence from humanitarian migrants in Australia
International Migration
Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but IZA takes no institutional policy positions. The IZA research network is committed to the IZA Guiding Principles of Research Integrity. The IZA Institute of Labor Economics is an independent economic research institute that conducts research in labor economics and offers evidence-based policy advice on labor market issues. Supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation, IZA runs the world's largest network of economists, whose research aims to provide answers to the global labor market challenges of our time. Our key objective is to build bridges between academic research, policymakers and society. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author.
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.
English Skills and Early Labour Market Integration of Humanitarian Migrants
2020
We use the panel data from the Building a New Life in Australia survey to examine the relationships between proficiency in English and labour market outcomes among humanitarian migrants. Having better general or speaking skills in English is certainly associated with a higher propensity for participation in the labour force and getting a job. However, we also find that, compared to other domains of English proficiency, such as listening, reading and writing, proficiency in English speaking skills has been the least improved domain for humanitarian migrants' who have participated in an English training program. Our paper explores the channels leading to these outcomes, finding that self-esteem, self-efficacy and general health partially mediate the relationship between English proficiency and labour force participation. We also find that self-efficacy, general health and indicative serious mental illness partially mediate the relationship between better English proficiency and th...
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2017
Key drivers for migrants' social integration are education, employment, and skills in the dominant language of the settlement country. Data from Building a New Life in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Humanitarian Migrants were used to examine migrants' English proficiency and how oral English proficiency facilitated or hindered participation in activities that may help them become self-sufficient and settle. Participants were 2,399 humanitarian migrants interviewed in the first wave of data collection (during 2013/14). Before arrival in Australia, 80.1% reported they spoke English not well or not at all. After arrival, oral English proficiency was a statistically significant predictor of self-sufficiency (knowing how to look for a job, get help in an emergency, etc.) explaining 21% of the variance while controlling for confounding variables such as age and education. After English proficiency, age (neither too young nor too old), gender (male), education (more than 12 years), and time since arrival (more than one year) were significant predictors of self-sufficiency. Identification of factors that predict self-sufficiency informs the understanding of people who provide support for humanitarian migrants. These findings indicate poor oral English skills may profoundly hinder humanitarian migrants' ability to settle and highlight the importance of supporting migrants' English learning.
Ecumenical Migration Centre …, 2004
The researchers would like to acknowledge the contributions of the service providers and representatives of community organisations and government bodies who gave their time in interviews and discussions and provided information for this paper. Thanks are also due to the Ecumenical Migration Centre and other Brotherhood of St Laurence staff who assisted with this project, in particular Ainslie Hannan and Jill Carr. Any errors are the responsibility of the authors.
2016
This is the final report of the ARC linkage research project Refugees' employment aspirations and inter-generational communication about future occupational pathways. The project was based in South-east Queensland and was conducted over three years (2013, 2014, and 2015). The lead chief investigator was Dr Aparna Hebbani from the University of Queensland. The project had three overall aims. Aim 1: To investigate the employment experiences of recently arrived refugees. Aims 2 and 3: To investigate refugees' aspirations for themselves and their children's educational and occupational futures. Specifically, this study focused on the experiences of refugee settlers from Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia, which are among the top ten source countries for offshore humanitarian entrants (DIBP, 2013).