Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of ...

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issues from the perspective of these key players. Organisations consultedwith included Local Employment Services and private recruitment agencies.• Interviews with EmployersIn depth interviews were conducted with nine employers, five in the privatesector and four in the public sector. Employers were selected on the basisof having experience of recruitment of immigrant workers and bothsmall and large employers were included. This was therefore a purposivesample, chosen to provide actual insights into how immigrants are orcould be recruited. The interviews explored in detail the various elementsof the process of recruitment and how these impacted on the recruitmentof immigrants. In addition, examples of innovation in terms of recruitmentor elements of recruitment were also collected during this stage.• Consultation with Social Partner OrganisationsInterviews were carried out with representatives of IBEC, ICTU and SIPTUto ensure a rounded view of the issues emerging.• Focus GroupsThree focus groups were organised with participation from each of thethree groups that were the primary focus of the research. Each focusgroup had a mix of men and women and people at work as well as lookingfor work. All had legal entitlement to work through EU citizenship, workpermits, refugee status or entitlement to work part time while on studentvisa. For logistical reasons and given the fact that most immigrant workersare located in Dublin, all focus groups were conducted in the Dublinregion. The Focus Groups were organised in collaboration with the NewCommunities Partnership. These Focus Groups allowed us to identifythe employment aspirations of participants, their experiences of seekingemployment and the difficulties or challenges they encountered. Thefindings from these group sessions were used to inform the developmentof survey instruments for the quantitative phase of the research.1.9.3 Quantitative ResearchThe main objective of the quantitative phase was to broaden out the datacapture mechanisms and to ensure the input of varied organisations, includingcompanies, to the research. Two surveys were conducted as follows:• An email survey of labour market service providers in the easternregion, including Dublin and its hinterland and adjoining counties. Atotal of 30 questionnaires were sent out and 11 responses were received,giving a response rate of 36 per cent;22Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of Immigrant Workers in Ireland
• A postal survey of a sample of employers within the Construction, Healthand Hospitality sectors in the Dublin region. A detailed questionnairewas developed and distributed to 800 employers. 122 fully completedresponses were received, giving a response rate of 15.25 per cent 5 .1.10 Structure of the ReportIn the following chapters we report first on the experiences of immigrantsin seeking work in Ireland (Chapter 2) and subsequently on the practices andexperiences of employers in recruiting (Chapter 3). Chapter 4 presents the overallconclusions. As a preface to presenting the findings, it is useful to note thefollowing points.a. Despite the current economic downturn, Ireland as a developed economywill continue to be a country of destination for immigrants. Theappropriate management of immigration and integration therefore willcontinue to grow in importance as a policy area for Government and asan area of practice for employers and Trade Unions. Roche (2007) hassuggested that as diversity in the workplace becomes normalized, there isthe possibility of concern shifting from instances of gross exploitation tothe perils of labour market segmentation, the management of diversityand pursuit of equal opportunities in employment. This is a challenging,but achievable agenda and one which, as the NESC has pointed out, ismost likely to enhance Ireland’s economic and social development.b. At this point in time, and notwithstanding a number of unique featuresof immigration to Ireland, it appears that the Irish experience ofimmigration and particularly economic migration is not untypical ofinternational experience. The feminization of immigration, diversityamongst immigrants along a range of dimensions, the segmentationof labour markets and the risk of vulnerability on the labour marketare all features of global migration and have been for some time.Similarly, practices of Irish employers vis-à-vis immigrant workers,whether exemplary in terms of accommodating diversity or exploitativeof vulnerable groups, are replicated worldwide - in the contemporaryimmigration context, there is nothing new under the sun. From an Irishperspective, this holds out the possibility of learning from those countriesthat have put in place policies and structures to manage immigration5 As noted elsewhere in the report, this was a purposive survey that sought to collateemployer views and practice regarding the recruitment and selection process. Availableresources did not allow for follow-up and statistical significance was neither sought nor is itclaimed from the relatively low response rate.23
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It is reasonable to assume that in
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Of more specific relevance to the c
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public sector employers) as well as
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BibliographyBarrett, A and Y McCart
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O’Connell, P and F McGinnity (200
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Public Appointments ServiceChapter
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