AMES reveals skilled migrants need help finding professional jobs

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Created on Thursday, 07 November 2013 15:13

Written by Editorial staff

AMES recently published a report, titled 'Securing Futures: Making the Most of Migrants' Skills', that provides information that may interest migration agents in Australia.

The report shows that people who have recently arrived in Australia on immigration visas face a number of challenges when it comes to finding work.

In 2012-13, approximately 130,000 skilled migrants travelled to our shores in the hopes of gaining employment.

AMES reveals that 10 per cent of them - mostly those from non-English speaking backgrounds - struggled to find work that was "appropriate to their training".

In addition to this, just 53 per cent of people are able to work in the occupation they nominated as part of their visa application.

AMES is advocating the creation of a national program that would help skilled migrants find professional jobs once they arrive in Australia.

AMES already provides such a service - the Skilled Professional Migrants Program (SPMP) - which consists of a 4-week workshop that helps "bridge the cultural divide" for new arrivals.

The SPMP offers participants a detailed overview of the Australian job market and culture, helps skilled migrant workers put together CVs and develop their interview skills to suit Australian employers, and offers them advice about how to network successfully.

It does so because these particular areas have been found to cause problems for skilled migrants.

According to 'Securing Futures: Making the Most of Migrants' Skills', being unfamiliar with Australian recruitment practices, having few or no professional contacts and not understanding workplace culture are the main barriers preventing skilled migrants from finding professional jobs.

AMES said a national SPMP would help our country "maximise the use of skills brought by migrants and contribute to Australia’s productivity".

Because the majority of skilled migrants who come to Australia are at the beginning or in the early stages of their careers, the benefits of implementing such a program would be long term.

Monica O'Dwyer, one of the report's authors, said our country is fantastic when it comes to "attracting people with professional skills and qualifications," and she is happy  Australia's immigration program has made this a priority.

However, she said these skills are going unused in many cases, and as a result Australia is "missing out on potentially productive people who can bring new perspectives and unique problem solving skills".