Professor Santina Bertone - Victorian Local Governance Association

Professor Santina Bertone‘EMPLOYMENT BARRIERS AND SUCCESS FACTORSFOR SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN THE MELBOURNE PUBLICSECTOR ’Presentation to the VLGASantina Bertone (co-authors Beata Leuner, Lalitha Nair,John Qin)

Research Workshop – 7 JulySwinburneMigration Program Outcomes 1997-98 to 2007

Research Workshop – 7 JulySwinburneBackground- Immigrants are highly skilled- Engineers, doctors, nurses, IT professionals, accountants and many more- Three major avenues of entry – permanent (independent, family,humanitarian), temporary (e.g. 457 visa) and on-shore graduates- Main source countries: NZ, UK, India, China, Philippines, Iraq, Sri Lanka,Malaysia, Burma- A quarter of the labour force is from non-English speaking countries- In Victoria, it is 17.55%, and in NSW 19.24%

Research Workshop – 7 JulySwinburneProblems of skill transfer- Flatau, 1995 – NESB migrants three times more likelyto face ‘over-education’ at work- Green et al., 2004 – over-education higher for NESBs (31% cf. 22%) withAsians at 36%- Kler, 2006 – over-educated ESBs 16%, Europeans 39%, Asians 49%- Kler found significant earnings differences too, in favour of ESBs- Unemployment also higher for NESBs (Thapa, 2004)- The gaps are closing but still there (Hawthorne, 2005)- Barooah & Mangan, 2007 – returns to education lower for East Asians andother Asians, however, working in the public sector increased chances ofhigher incomes- Doucouilagos, 2004 – found that NESB migrants in the VPS received lowerreturn on education than ESB and Australian-born, 57% less for a PhD

Research Workshop – 7 JulySwinburneWhy is over-education and poor skill utilisation aproblem?• Wasted human resources, loss of productivity• Emotional and confidence issues for the victims• Lesser opportunities and poorer living standards• Under-performing immigration program• Less culturally and linguistically diverse sectors

Research Workshop – 7 JulyThe Ian Potter study (2010)Sought to explore these questions:Swinburne- Are there factors at the workplace level which may be contributing to theunder-representation of NESB/CALD immigrants in the Victorian publicsector?- Are there employment barriers, formal or informal, limiting the entry andparticipation of skilled NESB/CALD immigrants into the Victorian publicsector?- Where applicable, how do these barriers (policies, behaviours, practices)manifest in everyday working life?- What kinds of cultural diversity management strategies seem to mitigate theeffect of such barriers, and which make them worse?- What can be done to solve the problem and how do the stakeholders(managers, employees) in the public sector view such strategies and culturaldiversity management in general?- Methodology based on interviews, focus groups and document analysis(2 local government, 2 state government agencies) and analysis of ABSCensus 2006

Research Workshop – 7 JulySwinburneVictoria University Study (2010)- Asked the same questions and used the same approach, minus the focusgroups (i.e interviews only)- in total, 16 metropolitan councils were covered (when Ian Potter councilsincluded)

Research Workshop – 7 JulySwinburneFindingsCensus –In Victoria:- 17.8% of federal public sector jobs held by NESB migrants- 11.4% of state public sector jobs held by NESB migrants- 11.5% of local government jobs held by NESB migrants- Expected level based on general workforce figures – 17.55%- (this is a 52% difference between NESB employment in local governmentand more broadly in the Victorian workforce)- The difference is even more pronounced in NSW (more than 100%difference)

Research Workshop – 7 JulySwinburnePercentage of Employees in Victorian public sector(three tiers of government) by Country of BirthPercentage of Employees in Public sector by Country of BirthPlace of Residence Australia MES NMES Total Australia MES NMESObserved valuesExpected values% % % % % % %Federal 72.64460047 9.586537 17.76886 100 74.33005 8.124895 17.54505State 79.87336814 8.691763 11.43487 100 74.33005 8.124895 17.54505Local 80.22249691 8.265125 11.51238 100 74.33005 8.124895 17.54505VictoriaPublic 77.67809845 8.924014 13.39789 100 74.33005 8.124895 17.54505Australia Public (as a whole) 77.70791301 10.76149 11.5306 100 74.33005 8.124895 17.54505Victoria No. Employed 74.33005285 8.124895 17.54505 100 74.33005 8.124895 17.54505

Research Workshop – 7 JulySwinburneFocus groups and interviews:- Potential employment barriers for NESB migrants included:- English language proficiency levels- Use of key selection criteria as a screening mechanism- Preference for applicants having Australian experience- Preference for recruiting people like themselves- Lack of local contacts, references and support networks- Other specific technical requirements such as knowledge of local planninglaws, literacy, numeracy, driver’s licence, citizenship etc.

Proposed strategiesSwinburne• Make the recruitment process more explicit/ transparent and allow fordifferent approaches• Use a generic curriculum vitae template• Remove names from applications• Reduce number of key selection criteria and explain how to address them• Mentoring and work experience placements for NESB/CALD people• Target cultural diversity in recruitment through a concerted policy drive• Collect workforce data on cultural diversity• Provide scholarships and bursaries to NESB/CALD people to develop theirskills• Provide cultural diversity training, particularly for those involved inrecruitment.

Contact:Professor Santina BertoneEmail: sbertone@swin.edu.auPhone: 9214 5312