Help provided to recent migrants to find their first job in Australia is more than four times more likely to come from friends and family than it is from Centrelink or an employment service provider.
A new survey of almost 3,000 recent migrants from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed the barriers to work for the country’s newest residents.
Almost half of an estimated 743,000 people who arrived in Australia on a permanent visa in the past decade and found work, needed help.
236,000 received help from friends and family, and 56,000 received assistance from Centrelink or an employment service provider.
Dr Dimitria Groutsis, Convenor of the 'Migrants @ Work Research Group' at the University of Sydney Business School, said "ethno-specific" networks of new migrants led many to employment opportunities, but new arrivals also need support to build ties outside these groups.
"This is a powerful and trustworthy source and can expedite the process to gaining access to the labour market," she said, but also noted it had the potential to cause problems, increasing the possibility of exploitation.
"The other more subtle issue is the fact that this form of ethno-specific employment may lead to a ghettoisation of particular community groups impacting on integration and broader civic engagement."
The research estimates 233,000 permanent arrivals in the past decade found it difficult to find their first job. Within this group, 151,000 cited a lack of Australian work experience or references, 72,000 a lack of local contacts and 59,000 language difficulties, as reasons for their struggles.
The survey also highlights additional challenges for arrivals in the humanitarian or refugee program, where around two out of three recent arrivals have not found a job.
Tim O’Connor, spokesperson for the Refugee Council of Australia, said refugees often need assistance with learning English in order to find work.
"The government offers 510 hours and this is a great start, but it needs to be flexible to ensure people have a chance to cope with their new surrounds, and to work around part time work or family commitments that so many refugees face in the early days of settlement.”
The unemployment rate for recent migrants and temporary residents was 7.4 per cent, compared to 5.4 per cent for people born in Australia.
Migrants with Australian citizenship had an unemployment rate of 3.3 per cent, temporary residents 8.6 per cent and recent migrants on a permanent visa 8.8 per cent.
