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Occupational mobility of skilled Sudanese refugee entrants in Melbourne, By Annabel Masquefa
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Click here to download the full text, printable version.
"Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Development Studies."
The
aim of this research is to determine whether skilled Sudanese entering
Australia under the humanitarian program have found employment in
direct relation to their academic qualifications and professional
experience. The study specifically targeted Sudanese professionals who
have been living in Melbourne for over two years, who have a good
command of English, and who had industry-relevant and tertiary
qualifications prior to arrival.
This research is necessary
because most studies of the employment experiences of migrants have
focussed on people who arrived from Europe and Asia, and who are
clearly disadvantaged in the labour market by virtue of their lack of
skills. As a result, there has been no research on the employment
experiences of relatively skilled migrants from the Horn of Africa.
Through
in-depth interviews, the research examines the employment histories and
the occupational mobility of 18 Sudanese professionals from the time of
their first employment up to the present. Only one respondent, from the
business category, was able to resume his former occupation shortly
after arrival in Australia. On average four and a half to six years
after resettlement, four other respondents managed to secure employment
in professional fields, although not in former occupations. While the
sample population shows a high rate of employment, all respondents,
regardless of their professional background, were initially employed in
menial activities where half of them remained six years later. Thus a
high level of underemployment exists among skilled Sudanese and upward
occupational mobility seems to favor overseas business administrators
over lawyers, doctors and social scientists. Contrary to expectations,
former financial status, prior work experience in the country of
origin, possession of university qualifications, fluency in English and
having lived in Australia for more than two years, bore no relationship
to the ability to obtain employment in skilled occupations. Instead,
factors impeding on occupational mobility include the non-recognition
of overseas qualifications by Australian professional bodies, the lack
of local experience, racial prejudice and age.
CHAPTER 1
The Movement of Skilled Sudanese Refugees to Australia and their Employment Status
The
literature on immigration and settlement in Australia has rarely
focused on occupational outcomes for relatively advantaged refugee
groups. Rather, the literature has been primarily concerned to explain
the experiences of those immigrants that are clearly disadvantaged in
the labour market - typically unskilled refugees, people from non
English speaking backgrounds (NESB), women, or conversely immigrants
recruited under Australia’s skilled immigration program. This study, by
contrast, focuses on Sudanese refugee/humanitarian entrants with
tertiary qualifications, industry-relevant experience and a pronounced
knowledge of English, all attributes that would suggest a successful
integration into the Australian labour market.
Most research on
refugee migration and resettlement to Australia focuses on European and
Asian settlements due to the historical, geographical and economic ties
that Australia shares with Europe and Asia. However, there has been a
recent influx of humanitarian entrants from the Horn of Africa,
especially from Sudan, to the extent that the Sudanese is now the
fastest growing ethnic community in Victoria. Outside of their own
community, little is known about these Sudanese migrants, and the
dearth of data on their occupational experiences has given the impetus
for this research.
The aim of this research is to determine
whether skilled Sudanese entering Australia under the humanitarian
program have found employment in direct relation to their academic
qualifications and professional experience. The study specifically
targets Sudanese professionals who have been living in Melbourne for
over two years. It looks at the job history of 18 Sudanese
professionals, with a good command of English, from the time of their
first employment up to the present. Ultimately, this research attempts
to identify the barriers that prevent an upward mobility in
professional practice, and, conversely, the factors that favour a
successful economic integration. Since successful immigration and
integration often depends on employment experience, the findings will
help determine whether the Australian resettlement program has been
successful in its effort to recreate a conductive environment for
professional workers, and whether people’s skills and diversified
experiences have been mobilised to the benefit of the economy.
1.1. The Sudanese war and refugees
1.1.1 The Sudanese war
The
civil war in Sudan, which is in area the largest country in Africa,
stems from the divisions between an Arab/Muslim majority in the north
and African Christian/Animists in the south (Holtzman, 2000). These
divisions are grounded in social, political, economic and religious
differences, which are products of historical forces that have created
tensions and inequalities between the north and south. Formerly
colonized by the British, Sudan became independent in 1956. However, at
the time of independence, only the state of north Sudan, which
represented as much as 90% of all economic investment in the country,
had an effective administrative and political structure (Lehrefeld,
2001).
In 1989 Sudan came under the rule of an oppressive military
government lead by Lieutenant General al Bashir. It imposed the sharia
law (the Islamic law) on both northerners and southerners, but most
aggressively on the non-Muslim southerners. This exacerbated their
marginal political and economic position, leading to anti-government
movements and guerrilla warfare. As a result of the war, southerners
have fled into neighbouring countries, where many live in refugee
camps, waiting for the chance of migration to Australia or elsewhere
(Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002). Sudan’s civil war has caused a
population of around 500, 000 Sudanese people to register as refugees
in other countries (UNHCR, 2002). Even more alarming, the on-going war
in Sudan has created an estimated 4 million internally displaced
persons (IDPs), the largest IDP population in the world (Lehrefeld,
2001).
1.1.2 Who is a refugee? Facts and figures
For the purpose
of this research, it is important to establish the distinction between
a refugee, an asylum seeker and an internally displaced person. The
United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees, or
referred to as the 1951 Geneva Convention states that a refugee is “a
person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons
of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social
group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality,
and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself
of the protection of that country (UNHCR, 1951)". As of December 31,
2001, UNHCR estimates that the number of refugees worldwide was 15
million (UNHCR, 2002)
A person becomes a refugee only when their
asylum claim has been accepted by either the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) or other governmental bodies and
agencies. A person waiting for a decision on their claim is called an
asylum seeker. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) flee their homes for
the same reasons as refugees, but remain within their own country and
are thus subject to the laws of that state (UNHCR, 2003). Australia
acceded to the Geneva Convention in 1954 and it is also party to the
1967 protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.
The fundamental
distinction between a migrant and a refugee, as developed in Kunz’s
(1973) kinetic model, is that a refugee is a completely involuntary
‘push’ force migrant, as distinct from voluntary ‘pull’ force migrants
who attracted by opportunities such as enhanced employment prospects
and/or quality of life in the country of settlement. Contrary to the
refugee, the economic migrant leaves a country voluntarily and should
he or she elect to return home, they would continue to receive the
protection of their government (UNHCR, 2003). Refugees, on the other
hand, flee because of the threat of persecution and cannot return
safely to their homes in the prevailing circumstances. “It is the
reluctance to uproot oneself, and the absence of positive original
motivations to settle elsewhere, which characterises all refugee
decisions and distinguishes the refugee from the voluntary migrants”
(Cohen and Joly cited in Potocky-Tripodi, 2002). As a result, the way
the refugee approaches his/her new life is radically different from
those who come voluntarily, and this has been reflected in Australia
with humanitarian entrants experiencing a more difficult initial
settlement period than those who come under any other migrant
categories (Iredale et al., 1995).
1.2 Australia and the humanitarian program
Australia’s
permanent immigration program has a migration component
(non-humanitarian) for skilled and family migrants, and a humanitarian
component for refugees and others with humanitarian needs (DIMIA,
2003). The Humanitarian Program has an offshore resettlement program
for persons overseas, and an onshore protection program for those
already in Australia. The Offshore component of the Australian
Humanitarian Program is composed of three categories: a) Refugees-
those who have been identified in conjunction with UNHCR offices
worldwide; b) the Special Humanitarian Program (SHP)- for people who
have suffered discrimination amounting to gross violation of human
rights, and who have strong support from an Australian citizen or
resident or a community group in Australia, and; c) the Special
Assistance category (SAC)-introduced for those individuals who do not
meet refugee or SHP criteria but who are from particularly vulnerable
situations and have close family or community links in Australia
(DIMIA, 2003).
Although, on a per capita basis, Australia has
accepted more refugees than any other industrialised country (Iredale
and D’Arcy, 1993), there has recently been a reduction in the intake of
humanitarian entrants. Between two periods, 1993-95 and 1999-2000, the
total migrant intake to Australia fell from around 80,000 to 65,000 and
the humanitarian offshore intake has been reduced from 16% to 8%
(Richardson and al, 2001). This reduction is a result of the
government’s desire to increase the average labour market quality of
migrants, favouring skilled vs. unskilled migration movements
(Richardson et al, 2001). However, a reduction in the intake of refugee
entrants has not applied to sub-Saharan Africans, on the contrary,
throughout the last two decades, the number of sub-Saharan refugees
entering Australia has been on the rise.
1.3 Rationale for the research
1.3.1 The recent influx of humanitarian entrants from the Horn of Africa
In
Australia, much of the media coverage and debates on refugees has been
associated with asylum seekers “boat people” and detention centres
(Mares, 2001). Less attention has been placed on humanitarian entrants
who are now currently living in Melbourne. This is even more the case
for African Australians who have constituted less than 10% of total
immigration (Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002) over the past few years.
As in Waxman (2001), available literature on refugee adjustment in the
final resettlement country tends to relate to Asian groups, especially
the Indochinese (and more specifically the Vietnamese), be it in the
United States, Canada or Australia (Viviani, 1984; Lewins and Ly, 1985;
Thomas and Balnaves, 1993). As a result, there is an absence of
empirical research in Australia, and overseas on the economic
adjustment experiences of recently arrived humanitarian entrants from
Africa.
Although African Australians constitute only 10% of total
immigration, there has been an increase in the number of African
humanitarian entrants since the early 1990s (Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock,
2002). In the late 1990s, most African arrivals were from Somalia,
Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia (Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002). The
preponderance of African immigrants from these former British colonies
may be accounted for by factors such as common English language, the
affinities and links that exist among former British colonies. Sudan
has had less humanitarian entrants than Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.
As of 2001, Victoria was host to 1,079 Sudanese refugees (Nsubuga-Kyobe
and Dimock, 2002). This is a 199% increase from the 1996 census making
it by far the fastest growing ethnic group in the state of Victoria
(the second largest group are the Somalis who grew 97% in the same
period) (ABS, 2001). The rapid growth of the Sudanese community in
Victoria and in other centres is causing the Department of Immigration
and Multicultural Affairs to classify the Sudanese community as one of
a few Australian communities that is 'new and emerging’ (DIMIA, 2002).
Relative to other migrant groups, settlement service needs are most
important for arrivals from Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia
(Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002).
1.3.2 Occupational experiences of immigrants
Due
to the recent influx of migrants from the Horn of Africa, there is a
scarcity of information on the Sudanese in Australia. The little
written is to be found in more general discussions of African
Australians. Publications on African Australians tend to focus on
resettlement experiences and settlement needs and services (Barony,
1991; Okay, 1995; Cox et al., 1999; Udo-Kepi, 1999 and Nubia Kobe and
Dimock, 2002). In relation to employment, the literature points to a
high and growing level of unemployment for black Africans in Australia
(Barony, 1991; Okay, 1995; Cox et al., 1999; Udo-Kepi, 1999 and
Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002; DIMIA). Back in the 1980s, Barony’s
(1991) research among African Australians in Melbourne identified, out
of a sample population of 187, a 25% unemployment rate and a 50%
non-participation rate in the labour force. A few years later, Cox et
al’s (1999) national survey of 221 African Australians, registered by
the Department of Social Security (DSS) as eligible for unemployment
benefit, came to similar findings with an unemployment rate of 23% and
a non-participation rate of 45%. Nsubuga-Kyobe and Damask’s latest
research (2002) among 172 African Australian participants in Victoria,
found that a striking 58% of the respondents were unemployed. Most
significant of all was that only 23% were employed. So, all these
findings point to unemployment as being an important problem for
African humanitarian entrants.
Underemployment is also a
common finding in all the research on migrants, including African
Australians. Well-qualified lawyers, doctors, engineers, managers, and
academics find it difficult to reach positions in the professional and
technical fields (Barony, 1991; Cox et al., 1999; Udo-Kepi, 1999 and
Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002). Barony’s findings (1991) point to 70%
of the 125 African respondents being in possession of some form of
trade or other post-school qualification but in spite of such
qualifications, few were employed as professional/technical workers and
clerical workers. Hawthorne and Burrell (1997) have provided
quantitative evidence that with few exceptions, skilled non-English
speaking background (NESB) migrants in Australia achieved limited
access to employment in their professional fields. Waxman (2001)
conducted research on the employment status among recently settled
Iraqi, Afghans and Yugoslavian refugees in Sydney and stated that
occupation prior to emigration had little effect on labour force status
once in Australia. He concluded that there was no significant
difference in current employment status between Iraqi, Afghans and
Yugoslavian refugees who were blue or white-collar workers in their
home countries.
Casual employment is also a form of
underemployment for African Australians, where an imposing majority
(70%) are found working part-time or not being engaged in the work
force (Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002). According to Nsubuga-Kyobe and
Dimock (2002), African Australians are often engaged in menial or
part-time, casual jobs with little possibility of professional
advancement. The literature also acknowledges the fact that hidden
unemployment is heavily concentrated on migrants from non-English
speaking background (NESB) (Wooden, 1993) but this will not be
discussed within the scope of this study.
A major limitation of
the available literature is that it looks at employment from a single
point in time, usually through a ‘snap-shot’ style of survey. The
research has not provided much insight into how employment prospects
changed and evolved (or not) after initial settlement. To this date,
the only survey that has provided a better picture of settlement
progress than would be captured from a point in time survey is Dime’s
Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (LSIA) (BIPR, 2002). The
DIMIA Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants covers the period from march
1994 until March 2002, and examines key indicators of labour market
success among 8316 newly arrived immigrants.
There are two
cohorts: LSIA 1 (cohort 1) which contains 5192 migrants who arrived in
Australia between September 1993 and August 1995 and LSIA 2 (cohort 2)
containing 3124 migrants who arrived in Australia between September
1999 and August 2000. Each cohort comprises different data collection
waves. Cohort 1 was interviewed on three separate occasions (6, 18 and
42 months after arrival) and cohort 2, was interviewed 6 and 18 months
after arrival. The two cohorts are used to measure settlement progress
overtime.
For humanitarian entrants, paralleling the findings
from the literature, unemployment rates jumped from 33% in cohort 1 to
43% in cohort 2. Unemployment rates exceed by 4 to 5 times the
Australian-wide average of around 9 per cent. Humanitarian entrants had
by far the lowest rate of unemployment in all visa categories and in
both cohorts. Nevertheless, it was found that overtime, the employment
situation of humanitarian entrants improved (Richardson et al, 2001).
For cohort 1, after three and half years in Australia, 40 per cent of
humanitarian primary applicants and spouses had a job and the
unemployment rate (for cohort 2) fell from 75% at the time of arrival
in January to 43% in March 2001 (BIPR, 2002). Very few humanitarian
entrants are in employment six months after resettlement but overtime
there is a move from unemployment, student or home duties into wage and
salary employment. Richardson et al (2001) made a concluding remark
that although it is true that employment has risen overtime, it is
nevertheless from a very low base (Richardson et al, 2001).
In
cohort 2, it was found that 21% of the humanitarian respondents held
elementary clerical, sales and service, and labourers occupations (or
unskilled occupations) in their country of origin. Once in Australia,
53% of humanitarian entrants were employed in those activities (this is
a 250% increase) (BIPR, 2002). Results from cohort 2 gauged the
responses of more than 3000 recently arrived immigrants regarding
whether their highest formal qualifications was being utilised in their
current employment: 31% of humanitarian entrants held jobs as managers,
administrators and professional positions in their country of origin,
but none were able to find a job in that category in Australia (BIPR,
2002). It was found that 50% of employed principal applicants with post
school qualifications were occupationally mismatched (Richardson et al,
2001).
1.4 Aim
The aim of the research is to determine
whether skilled Sudanese entering Australia under the humanitarian
program have found employment in direct relation to their academic
qualifications and professional experience. It examines a
representative sample of 18 skilled Sudanese humanitarian entrants. The
research is cross sectional, and will determine whether, over a period
of two years and more, migrants have achieved the same level of
professional attainment in Australia as they had in their country of
origin. In case of a professional mismatch or an involuntary change in
professional orientation, the findings will shed light on the
occupational mobility of the 18 respondents. Ultimately, whether in
one’s occupational field or in another professional practice, the aim
of the survey is to determine whether employment improvements have
occurred overtime.
The research also aims to determine the
factors, or so called “exclusionary barriers”, that impede occupational
mobility. Conversely, in the case of successful labour market
experiences, it aims to identify the factors that favour successful
integration. So, this thesis intends to begin filling the gap in the
academic literature on African Australians by conducting the first
ethno-specific research on skilled Sudanese humanitarian entrants and
their employment history and mobility after resettlement.
1.5 Thesis structure
This
chapter has provided background information on the first black African
refugee movement to Australia, particularly from Sudan and the Horn of
Africa, and it has reviewed the findings pertaining to employment,
underemployment and occupational mobility. It has presented evidence
from other studies, which show that African migrants to Australia, and
presumably therefore also Sudanese migrants, have considerably
difficulty gaining employment on arrival in Australia. It has also
discussed evidence which suggests that skilled migrants to Australia
have considerable difficulty gaining employment in the professions in
which they were engaged prior to emigration. Having established this
basic set of problems, and the lack of research on the Sudanese in
particular, the following chapter therefore reviews the literature that
explains the underlying reasons for this phenomenon of labour market
structural disintegration (unemployment, underemployment and a lack of
occupational mobility)
Chapter III explains the data collection
method used to gather information for this thesis. It also briefly
describes the method used to select the sample population, to gain
their consent to conduct this research, and the diverse constraints
encountered while undertaking fieldwork.
Chapter IV describes
and analyses the findings of 18 in depth interviews. It presents
results on respondent’s former qualifications, skills and professional
experience, and how these attributes have manifested themselves in the
overall employment performance and mobility of skilled Sudanese. This
chapter relates back to the findings in Chapter I and whether distinct
or similar conclusions can be drawn.
Chapter V discusses the
findings of the research, and relates these back to the theory in
chapter II on the reasons for labour market segregation. It discusses
what the respondents themselves thought were the factors impeding
occupational mobility, or conversely the factors that favoured
successful employment in their field. Finally there is a brief
concluding chapter.
CHAPTER 2
Reasons for Labour Market Disintegration
Having
established in the previous chapter the problems African Australians
face in gaining employment, and employment in their original field of
expertise, this chapter reviews the literature that explains this
phenomenon of labour market structural disintegration (unemployment,
underemployment and a lack of occupational mobility). There are several
exclusionary barriers for skilled Sudanese humanitarian entrants to
finding work in white-collar occupations. Some barriers originate in
global level, transformations in labour demand and supply, which affect
structural changes at the local level. The recession in the beginning
of the 1990s also had a direct impact on immigrants who joined a pool
of already unemployed workers, so worsening their employment and living
conditions. There are other factors such as the lack of recognition of
overseas qualifications, English proficiency, local experience and time
spent in Australia that also work against skilled refugees as they
attempt to practice their professions. In addition, there are factors
operating at a more interpersonal level, such as the unawareness or
non-acceptance of cultural differences and discriminatory practices
which also ultimately reduce, to a great extent, the chances of
mobility from blue-collar to white-collar occupations.
2.1 Globalisation and structural changes
“The
world economy has led to the widespread realization that human
resources can be traded for profit like any other resource” (Salt,
1992:1079). The productivity-driven competition-based, intensifying
links between the economies of Asia, Europe, America and elsewhere
require ever growing input of highly qualified labour (Bohning and
Zegers de Beijl, 1995). The search for skills at a global level has
created polarized labour movements. In turn, there has been a distinct
change from a pyramidal form towards a top end-bottom end dichotomy of
highly qualified vs. unskilled labour (or what would be referred to as
the funnel shape) (Bohning and Zegers de Beijl, 1995). In Australia
this has lead to a labour market characterised as being “increasingly
dichotomised, as a primary or core group of secure well-paid workers is
surrounded by a secondary or peripheral group of marginalised workers”,
and where “the distance between the core and peripheral worker groups
is now increasing, leading to greater social polarisation and greater
social inequality” (Webber and Weller, 2001:288).
Australia’s
immigration has historically had a strong bias against non-Europeans
until the introduction of a non-discriminatory policy in 1972, in a
time when the quest for economic growth in a global competitive
environment was significant. This new policy has led the government to
place an emphasis on the intake of skilled migrants rather than more
general inflows of migrants. For the last two decades and particularly
between 1995 and 2001, this has lead to increasingly higher proportions
of migrants from the Independent/Business Skills and Employer
Nomination Scheme visa categories and a smaller proportions of entrants
from the Humanitarian and Preferential Family /Family Stream categories
(Richardson and al, 2001). So, there has been an increasing number of
migrants with high levels of qualifications and English. A preference
system for foreigners possessing special skills or abilities in demand
was also introduced in the United States, Europe and Canada (Bohning
and Zegers de Beijl, 1995), creating a global movement usually referred
to as the “brain drain/brain gain”.
Although, employers and
governments in developed countries have intensified their demand for
highly skilled labour, the demand for low-skilled workers also
continues, because many nationals in industrialised countries refuse to
take the more unappealing jobs (Bohning and Zegers de Beijl, 1995). The
decline of manufacturing employment and the growth of the services in
Australia has created more non-manual jobs, and more part-time and
casual working (Castles and Miller, 1993). The increase in casual
employment is evidence of the increasingly precarious nature of work
(Campbell and Burgess, 1998 cited in Webber and Waller, 2001), and
poorly paid jobs usually take on an ethnic dimension. Patterns of
labour market segmentation by ethnic origin which emerged in the 1970s
have persisted and have become even more pronounced in the 1990s
(Castles and Miller, 1993). This is not a new phenomenon, since its
inception in the sixteenth century, the capitalist world economy has
‘naturally’ developed a hierarchy of occupational tasks (Hoogvelt,
2001) but what is relevant in the economic integration of skilled
Sudanese is the way these power structures, have in very subtle ways,
within the different layers of the job structure and instrumented by
laws and policies raised exclusionary barriers to reduce and prevent
the entry and ascension of professional practitioners.
2.2 The Recession period
The
high unemployment among the African Australian community in the mid
1990s that was mentioned in the previous chapter was in part due to the
changing work environment in Victoria. The nation-wide recession in
Australia in the early 1990s, was characterized by a reduction in
manufacturing jobs and a down-sizing of personnel due to a changing
technology, all of which has affected migrants who joined a pool of
unemployed labour that was in excess of 7-8% throughout much of the
1990s (Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002). The same period saw an increase
in the number of African Australians entrants and there were growing
concerns about migrants competing with Australian-born residents for
jobs, housing and other resources (Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002). The
end of the 1990s saw a decline in unemployment, which dropped from 9.7
per cent in 1994 to 6.6 per cent in 2001, and a corresponding increase
in employment, by approximately 1.26 million people or 16 per cent
(Richardson et al, 2001). However, this growth in employment had little
effect on unemployment rates among African communities for whom the
problem is acute, particularly in Victoria (Richardson et al, 2001).
2.3 Refugee and circumstantial factors
The
refugee is a distinct social type since by definition (s) he had no
prior intentions of moving until the onset of a crisis. With this in
mind, Iredale and D’Arcy (1992) point to the differences in
‘circumstantial’ factors between refugees and non-refugees immigrants
settling in Australia, and these may impinge on labour market success
in Australia.
Commonly, the journey of the refugee is
characterised by great and enforced mobility. For the Sudanese this has
been characterised by multiple relocations within Africa, especially
Egypt and Kenya, the Persian Gulf countries and Europe. In addition to
the psychological and physical traumas associated prior to and during
the flight, many have been in refugee camps for years and have been
traumatised by their camp experience (Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002).
As in Robinson (1999: 55), “once he finds asylum, the refugee becomes
aware of how much damage he has suffered, the heavy human and material
sacrifices circumstances have imposed on him, the disruption in his
social and family life, and his loss of roots”. The refugee may suffer
deep psychological trauma to the extent that many social psychologists
and psychiatrists have described a “typical refugee personality” in
which the individual is essentially nostalgic, has difficulty thinking
of the future and is extremely anxious (Robinson, 1999). The shock
produced by uprooting can cause very intense reactions and produce a
‘fixed’ obsession with the past and a total rejection of the host
country, especially among the elders, which then becomes the source of
their distress (Deschamps, 1987 cited in Iredale and D’Arcy, 1992).
The
psychological and physical disposition of some refugees can in turn
affect their propensity to look for work after resettlement. In a study
among the Somali in Melbourne, Robinson (1999) found that of those who
are in the workforce who are unemployed, a number are not able to
consider working at the present time because of reasons that may
include emotional reactions or trauma responses to their recent refugee
experiences. For example, one respondent says she could not work (or
drive) because she gets blank spells and memory lapses. “Nearly all
have had their employment disrupted and been without stable work for
several years before coming to Australia, and may not have a clear
vision of what “starting again” means in a foreign society” (Robinson,
1999:38). For those in the professions, the exile period can result in
an atrophy of skills.
Overall, it appears that special
characteristics of refugees stemming from their particular
circumstances of emigration (such as unpreparedness for departure,
experiences of trauma and torture and disruptions to education and
working life) that have contributed to their lack of overall labour
success (Iredale and D’Arcy, 1992).
2.4 Qualifications and English proficiency
The
first two barriers barrier that skilled African Australians encounter
when wanting to apply their skills and expertise is the lack of
proficiency in English and the non-recognition or devaluation of their
qualifications and work experience (Barony, 1991; Okay, 1995; Cox and
al., 1999; Udo-Kepi, 1999 and Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002). Since
all respondents in this study have either undertaken their studies in
English, travelled abroad, practiced English in their professions and
have been living here over a period of two years, the English barrier
is considered ‘irrelevant’ in explaining unemployment and occupational
mismatching.
Most of the literature concerning professionally
qualified migrants seeking to enter the Australian labour market
concentrates on qualifications assessment and recognition. Reviews of
the qualifications recognition process, such as the Fry report (1982)
and the review which led to the Committee on overseas Professional
Qualifications (COPQ) being replaced by the National Office for
Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) were aimed primarily at improving
and extending existing processes. Studies by Chapman and Iredale (1990)
and Iredale and Nivison-Smith (1995) suggest that less than half of
non-English speaking (NES) qualifications receive recognition. At the
same time Barony’s (1991) research among African settlers found that of
all of those with overseas post-school qualifications, only 42 per cent
have had their qualifications recognised despite the fact that, “many
universities in Anglophone African countries with their established
system of external examiners, award qualifications are arguably fully
more documented than those granted by some Australian institutions of
higher educations (Barony, 1991:39)”. More recently, however, Baker and
Robertson (1995) found that over 70% of all newly arrived immigrants
holding professional qualifications had them fully recognised or
readily accepted.
The proportion of migrants obtaining recognition
of qualifications is now believed to have risen dramatically as a
result of improvements in the recognition processes. The Longitudinal
Survey of Immigrants to Australia (LSIA) estimated that some 93% of
settlers arriving in Australia in 1993/4 who sought an assessment had
their qualifications recognised (Plimer and al, 1997). These findings
have been confirmed by the latest LSIA report which estimates that the
inability to have qualifications recognised was a problem for only a
small percentage of people (Richardson and al, 2001). Drastic
improvements in the recognition process has resulted from the
development of an extensive and effective system for the recognition of
overseas qualifications, a system that is superior to that in most
other countries (Cully and Skladzien, 2001).
Although the National
Office for Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) has effectively improved
its recognition process, the problem of non-recognition of
qualifications remains because Australian professional associations in
Victoria, have their own separate guidelines for recognising
qualifications from overseas institutions (Hawthorne, 1994 and 1997;
Cox and al, 1999; Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock 2002). These professional
bodies have required many African Australians to up-date their
qualifications in Victorian institutions (Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock,
2002). In some cases refugees may lack formal accreditation in the job
that they had before emigration, and this may prevent them from
acquiring these types of jobs in Australia (Iredale and D’Arcy, 1992).
While recency of arrival and either the non-recognition or
non-transferability of overseas-acquired qualifications appears to
account for some of refugees’ disadvantaged position compared with
other groups, they do not explain all of it.
It has only been
recently that the literature on professionally qualified immigrants has
gone beyond questions of English language proficiency and
qualifications provisions. The literature now recognises that there are
also cultural and structural barriers to professional employment.
2.5 Time factor
It
is common to find that immigrant unemployment rates are high in the
initial period after arrival, but then decline overtime (Richardson et
al, 2001). Waxman’s (2001) study of Afghans, Bosnians and Iraqi
refugees found that the Afghans, who has resided in Sydney the longest,
had the greatest likelihood of being employed, while those with the
shortest period of residence, the Bosnians, had the lowest likelihood.
However, it was also observed by Wooden (1991) and Williams, et al
(1997) that such improvement is less pronounced for refugees. The LSIA
concluded that very few humanitarian entrants are in employment six
months after arrival, but contrary to the findings of others, it was
observed that after a three and half year settlement period the falls
in unemployment were dramatic and, “the most spectacular fall in
unemployment was in fact among the humanitarian group, who started with
extremely high rates and saw them fall by two thirds” (Richardson and
al, 2001:10). This is not unexpected since there is generally a
relationship between the period of residence and the level of English
language competency and, subsequently, employment status (Waxman,
2001).
Based on the issues of length of time and skills
acceptance, Burrell and Hawthorne (1997), using census data from 1981
to 1991, provide quantitative evidence that for NESB professionals, the
longer the period of stay in Australia, the more likely such persons
are to be employed at the professional or managerial level. Flatau, et
al (1995) agreed that the longer the period of residence in Australia,
the greater is the likelihood of finding employment, however, they
argue that the lengthened period of time does not eliminate the problem
of ‘mismatch underemployment’ which persists among male NESB
immigrants. Baker and Robertson (1995) found that for those in
professional occupations prior to arrival who gain employment upon
arrival are likely to do so without much occupational downgrading,
whereas those who take longer to find employment are likely to suffer
some occupational downgrading. And, the longer the immigrant remains
unemployed, the less chance that person has of gaining appropriate
employment. This is because “skills levels and work practices and
habits start to deteriorate and the capacity of credentials to secure
appropriate work begins to depreciate (Brooks and Williams, 1995:58)”.
2.6 Local experience and labour market conditions
One
of the most frequent problems that humanitarian migrants face is a lack
of local experience (Richardson et al, 2001:57). Hawthorne (1994:67)
argues that the demand for local experience becomes more intense as the
economy continues to change, so that companies become “leaner and
meaner, and sharper focused” and the recruitment brief is to find “the
needle in the haystack”. New employees are expected to “hit the ground
running”, bringing with them all necessary experience, contacts and
knowledge of local standards in the professions. Since, African
Australians and Sudanese represent the first migration wave from Africa
and are more likely to arrive alone without established linkages with
people and institutions at their destination (Cox and al, 1999), one
can assume their lack of local knowledge, referees and known employers
has been a significant impediment to employment. However, the findings
from cohort 2 of the LSIA, suggest that local experience is a temporary
problem and that many of those who had been looking for work for at
least six months were more likely to find a job as they increased their
local knowledge (Richardson et al, 2001).
The demand for local
references favours those who have Australian employment experience.
This explains the important gap between the desire of immigration
policy to introduce more skilled workers, and the employer’s preference
over people with previous experience in Australia (Hawthorne, 1994).
Hawthorne and Burrell (1997) explain that the immediate cause of the
problems experienced by recently arrived NESB professionals was the
oversupply of professional which, in the context of weak labour demand,
sees employers’ preference to employ younger Australian trained
graduates. Hawthorne and Burrell (1997:71) add that for “every field
qualification listed, this age group of Australian born graduates
achieved far higher rates of employment than did recently arrived
overseas born graduates in the same age group, and ahead of those in
the 26-40 age group, despite the fact that the latter would have more
experienced.” This is what Watson (1994), in a study on overseas-born
managers in Australia, refers to as “the cloning effect”: “an existing
managerial work force seeks to replicate itself, using its own cultural
characteristics as the basis for admitting other and this makes things
difficult for NESB managers who lack managerial experience in
Australia” (Watson, 1994:53).
2.7 Cultural
In a statistical
analysis of underemployment, Flatau et al (1996) find that that the
greater the socio-economic and cultural distance between Australia and
a migrant country of origin, the more difficult it is for the migrant
to assimilate into the labour market. Hawthorne (1994) explains that
this cultural distance is manifest in the initial job seeking stages in
which the forming of an initial impression appears to be a critical
factor in considering an applicant from a professionally qualified
immigrant. She proceeds, “ the conventions on the style and content of
application letters and job resumes are as culturally specific as job
interview behaviours. Many employers make up their minds in the first
thirty seconds of an interview and negative decisions about NESB
applicants are invariably based on appearance, accent, or style of
presentation, each of which, may well be irrelevant to an applicant’s
professional or technical capacity (Hawthorne, 1994:64) ”.
Methodological approaches to interview in Australia can sharply
contrast with the reluctance, in other cultures, to respond to
‘personal’ and ‘negative’ questions, viewing them as unimportant or
even offensive. In turn, this can be regarded as not just embarrassing,
but as impolite and potentially dishonest on the side of Australian
employers such that “when the survival of your company and your
employees depends on those sales, you’ve got to make a very hard
decision, and it almost invariably goes to the conservative safe side,
to the disadvantage of the other one” (Hawthorne, 1994:68).
2.8 Discrimination
Racial
discrimination in the recruitment process has been extensively and
repeatedly cited among African Australians (Barony, 1991; Cox and al.,
1999; Udo-Kepi, 1999 and Nsubuga-Kyobe and Dimock, 2002). Cox and al
(1999) stated that 66% of the overall sample referred to this as the
biggest barrier, which presumably reflected their personal experience
as well as their perception of the experiences of others around them.
Barony (1991) calls racial discrimination “the most pervasive and
intractable of the problems confronting Africans”. Discrimination
occurs when migrants are do not receive the same treatment as
nationals, in spite of comparable education, qualifications and/or
experience (Bohning and Zegers de Beijl, 1995). While it arises in
almost all interactions with the wider community, it is more likely to
be found in situations in which there is competition and choice
(usually in employment, education and assessment of qualifications).
Inglis and Philips (1995:7) suggest that:
“It is not so much
because of conscious efforts to restrict access to potential
competitors, as a failure to recognise the discrimination inherent in
what are conceived as universalistic requirements for working in the
particular profession…(a question of) the extent to which their
required types and skills are universalistic or affected by culture and
social institutions which do not readily transfer to Australia”
Bohning
and Zegers de Beijl, (1995) believe that discrimination cannot be
eliminated through government legislation and enforcement
mechanisms-alone, and that there is a need for “measures that reach
further and actions on access to jobs, promotion and training, as well
as training and education in anti-discrimination behaviour or equal
treatment – aimed at the “gate keepers” of both the labour market and
society at large- are an unequivocal necessity” (Bohning and Zegers de
Beijl, 1995:44).
In most of the studies of African Australians
respondents identify a subtle form of discrimination which they call
‘hidden discrimination’, or ‘indirect discrimination’, with the problem
being how to provide proof that discrimination actually occurred
(Barony, 1991). Others see themselves as being very frequently
discriminated against, but perhaps not so much on ‘purely’ racial
grounds because they are Black, but more on grounds of being an unknown
quantity, and therefore unpredictable (Cox and al, 1999). Strong
criticisms were made of the media on a number of grounds. In Barony’s
research, many Africans complained about the inaccuracy and distortion
of the media’s depiction of Africa and black people. The respondents
felt that there should be a stress on the positive, with more coverage
on the achievement of Africans (Barony, 1991).
However, Wooden
(1990 cited in Iredale and D’Arcy, 1992) believes that if there is any
persistent disadvantage for refugees in the labour market, it does not
result from ethnic discrimination but rather because humanitarian
entrants have not been able to sufficiently improve their communication
skills and as a result are not as valuable to employers as other
workers. Watson (1994:53) adds that exclusionary barriers to employment
involve more than just a question of English proficiency; it also
involves a “deep understanding of the subtleties of the English
language, and of the complex cultural aspects of interpersonal
relationships in the workplace”.
2.9 Segmentation and mobility
It
has been presented that restrictions on employment and residency on
some categories of migrants has effectively channelled them into
specific sectors and types of jobs (Castles and Miller, 1993) In their
research among 272 Greek, Yugoslav and Vietnamese immigrants working in
the manufacturing sector in Melbourne, Campbell et al (1991) found that
there were processes which channelled immigrants into unskilled work,
and that once in those jobs occupational mobility was very low with a
tendency for those workers to remain in such jobs over the course of
their occupational career in Australia, regardless of their
qualifications and professional skills. As a result, segmented labour
markets usually become “ethnic enclaves” and once in unskilled
positions, immigrants’ chances to exit these positions and re-establish
into ‘mainstream’ society are rare.
Conclusions
There
are a variety of factors at both the global and national/local level,
which explain the phenomenon of labour market disintegration. Factors
such as the demand for unskilled migrants to fill up vacancies in
manufacturing jobs, the lack of recognition of overseas qualifications
and local experience, racial prejudice, ethnocentrism, and
circumstantial factors particular to refugees have raised exclusionary
barriers that impede the mobility of migrant groups from blue-collar to
white-collar occupations. The literature would therefore suggest that,
similarly, these factors operate to prevent the occupational mobility
of skilled Sudanese migrants.
The next chapter describes the
methods used to collect data relevant to the employment histories and
mobility of respondents. Information on occupational mobility presented
in chapter 4 was collected by assessing the respondents’ evolution in
employment status over time, the position/occupation and the sector of
industry they engaged in, the level of responsibility they assumed, the
nature of the work (casual, part-time/full-time) and the length of time
they remained in such occupations. A timeline, covering both Sudan and
Australia was constructed in order to visualize changes in occupations
and retrenchment periods over time.
CHAPTER 3
Methodology
Introduction
When
research relies on fieldwork data, the manner in which the researcher
presents the research topic (and in turn himself/herself) and
approaches the community is crucial to the outcome of the research
project. Thus a careful methodology was set up in order to establish
links with the main service providers representing the different
Sudanese communities in Melbourne. In turn, a sample of 21 Sudanese was
selected and data collected by means of individual recorded interviews
and guided by a questionnaire. This chapter details the research
methodology and discusses some of the constraints and limitations
encountered during fieldwork.
3.1 Locating a sample of skilled refugees
In
order to meet this thesis’ aim to determine whether skilled Sudanese
entering Australia under the humanitarian program have found employment
in direct relation to their academic qualifications and professional
experience, it was necessary to locate Sudanese respondents with the
following attributes:
· entered Australia under the humanitarian and family reunion programs
· has university qualifications and professional experience prior to arrival in Australia
· has been living in Australia for at least two years
· is fluent in English
There
are two areas of high African refugee concentration in Melbourne: the
Springvale/Clayton//Dandenong area to the southeast of Melbourne and
the inner-western region of Melbourne (Kensington, Flemington, Ascot
Vale and Footscray) (Majka, 2001). Once these locations were
identified, a contact was made with the main organizations representing
the diverse Sudanese communities in Melbourne. The ‘snowball’ sampling
technique was used to identify respondents, with key service providers
nominating potential respondents who would often, in turn, recommend
other humanitarian entrants, usually with similar industry-related
qualifications and interests. Three key respondents were initially
selected on the basis of their wide acquaintance with members of the
target population and, as a consequence, they were able to recommend a
range of people to interview beyond their own intimate circle. These
three initial key providers acted as “gatekeepers” or “elders” for the
respective Northern, Dinka and Nuer Sudanese communities.
In
order to establish something like a representative sample, the research
aimed to survey people from each of the major Sudanese groups currently
living in Melbourne. This attempt was realized with a sample population
comprising voices from the Dinka, the Nuer, the Kakwa and the Muslim
northerners. Although the researcher was aware of an important ethnic
and religious diversity among the Sudanese population, ultimately the
sample population, regardless of its ethnic or religious background,
would be regarded as one group “the Sudanese”.
3.2 Interviews
The
fieldwork was carried out using face to face in depth interviews with
21 skilled Sudanese. The questionnaire was mostly structured in order
to obtain quantitative data. However, some open-ended questions were
included to provide more descriptive qualitative data. There were two
main advantages of using face-to-face interviews as opposed to
self-completion questionnaires. First, response rates are much higher
with face-to-face interviews than with self-completion questionnaires
(Openheim, 1992) and, secondly, since this research is cross sectional,
face to face and in depth interviews were important in understanding
occupational processes and causal links. With the consent of all
participants, all interviews were recorded and provided the researcher
with a wide range of qualitative data as well as a “backup” in case
some information were forgotten or omitted.
3.3 Questionnaire
The
information used in this study was collected through interviews guided
by a questionnaire, which had both a structured component and a more
open-ended component. On average, each interview took approximately one
hour. The questionnaire can be found in Appendix I.
The first
part of the questionnaire focuses on personal details and aims to
establish what the respondents’ levels of qualification and
professional experience were prior to arrival in Australia. An emphasis
is placed on transit and mobility, in relation to those experiences,
since the transit period is an important component of the refugee
experience. The second part of the questionnaire relates to the arrival
phase in Australia. A section is devoted to the overseas qualification
assessment process and the questionnaire also seeks to establish
employment history, from the respondent’s first employment to their
current position, in Australia. So, the questionnaire contains a number
of questions on the sequence and the nature (part-time, full-time,
casual…etc) of jobs held by these workers. Occupational mobility was
examined in the survey through questions about employment before coming
to Australia, the first job (and the sector of industry) in Australia,
climbing the way up to the respondents’ current employment status. In
addition, there were also questions about qualifications and skills
acquired in Australia. The last part of the questionnaire is
qualitative and focuses on the respondents’ perception of their overall
employment experience in relation to their qualifications in Australia
and assesses what are, in their opinion, the factors preventing them
from exercising their formal profession.
3.4 Constraints and limitations
Although
the Sudanese community is growing and expanding, it is still a
relatively small community. Locating Sudanese respondents with the
previously mentioned attributes was not an easy task, especially since
the recent influx of African Australians to Australia comprises
“less-educated young people whose education has been seriously
disrupted over many years, and of women who have received little or no
formal education (Dimock and Nsubuga-Kyobe, 2002)”.
Another
constraint to this research was that despite the fact that four major
groups being represented in the sample, there is an uneven number of
respondents from each and every community. For instance, the Muslim
northerners comprised 55% of all interviews, followed by the Nuer
(33%), the Dinka and the Kakwa (6% each). The research was also unable
to establish links with another important community, the Sudanese
Copts, known to be well-qualified and experienced professionals. Also,
it is very probable that a sample population of 18 cannot be
representative of all qualified Sudanese professionals, even if most of
those from the northern, Dinka and Nuer communities were interviewed.
Finally,
there were apprehensions that Sudanese respondents would not want to
participate. The reason being was that when Waxman (2002) conducted
research among recent arrivals of refugees in Sydney lat year he found
that there was difficulty in gaining access to Africans due, in large
part, to an absence of monetary remuneration to the participants. As a
result, he chose Afghans as a replacement group. However, this did not
prove to be a problem in this research. Although some Sudanese were
reluctant to participate, most welcomed the research project and
devoted time for the interviews.
CHAPTER 4
Results and Data Analysis
Introduction
This
chapter presents and summarizes the quantitative results of the 18
respondents. The more qualitative data from the interviews will be
discussed in chapter 5.
4.1 Population characteristics
4.1.1 The Sample population
Although
21 in depth interview s were conducted, only 18 respondents were found
to match the research’s criterion of being Sudanese, having lived in
Melbourne for the last two years or more, having a good written and
spoken command of English, being university graduates prior to their
arrival and having professional experience in their field of endeavors.
Initially, the research aimed at targeting only refugee, special
humanitarian and family reunion entrants, however out of the 18
respondents, three were from the skilled visa category.
**The
full text of this thesis will be available on SORA soon. Urgent
requests for the full-text version should be sent by email to the SORA
editors** |
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