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

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• Freedom of movement for the citizens of the ‘new’ EU states also makesit much more difficult for non-EU workers to get a job. Those in the jobpermit stream are still very much at the mercy of their employers – andit is very hard to move job because of their status which locks them intocertain sectors. Moreover, as applicants for work permits must apply fromoutside of Ireland, if the employer does not renew their permit, they arelikely to be in a worse situation than someone applying for the first timefrom their home country.2.6.6 Mindsets and PrejudicesThe issue of prejudices amongst employers was also raised and participants at thefocus groups believed their immigrant status loomed large within the recruitmentprocess: that is, they believed they were seen not just as potential employees butas foreign employees. They believed the mindsets of some Irish employers wereattuned to Irish employees and that therefore they looked less favourably onnon-Irish candidates. Among respondents to the survey of service providers, halfbelieved that the reluctance of employers to recruit from amongst some groups ofimmigrants was a barrier in the public sector, and slightly more than this believedit to be a barrier in the private sector.In many instances, however, negative mindsets of employers were seen as beingdetermined more by precedent than by prejudice – that is, they were simply usedto a culturally homogenous workforce and it was this, and not prejudice, that wasinfluencing their thinking. While this distinction may make little difference tothe outcomes for job applicants, it does have relevance for interventions to dealwith this issue: changing mindsets that are based on precedence is a lot easierthan addressing prejudice. However, for Africans (many of whom were very highlyeducated) the situation was starker and there was unanimity amongst Africanfocus group participants – although they were initially reluctant to express this –that they experienced a significant level of racism in the Irish labour market andthat this was a major barrier to their recruitment. A substantial number of thesehad become self-employed, frequently very significantly below their skill level, as aresponse to this.2.7 Work Place Experiences, Retention andAdvancementAlthough the primary focus of the research was on recruitment, workplaceexperiences and the issue of retention and advancement were also explored. This40Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of Immigrant Workers in Ireland
was in recognition of the fact that companies that can attract immigrant workers,retain them in the workforce and secure their progress in employment are likelyto attract ongoing applications from non-Irish workers. A number of observationswere made by participants as follows:• Difficulties in the workplace can arise due to language or culturaldifferences as immigrants bring their own cultural traditions andattitudes to the work place. Practices such as working extra hours withoutpay for example can cause conflict with Irish workers.• When workplace policies and guidelines are not translated into thevarious languages, this can cause difficulties for immigrant workers andadd to the general problem of not knowing their rights and how to securethem.• There can frequently be poor promotion prospects for immigrant workersand some experienced resentment by Irish staff at middle managementlevel to the prospect of their promotion. There was a view that this canact as a disincentive for immigrant workers and may lead to their leavingthe company. Africans cited particular difficulties in regard to promotionand believed they would have to go to geographically isolated areas(where Irish workers did not wish to go) to have the chance of promotion.• A second view expressed was that some groups are reluctant to appeartoo ‘pushy’ in the workplace and therefore are unlikely to put themselvesforward for promotion.• A third barrier to advancement identified through our research isthe issue of companies using agency workers. Where they are employedby a third party, immigrants find themselves working in a specificcompany but not employed by that company and consequently they maynot have entitlement to apply for other and better jobs within the samecompany.2.8 ConclusionIt seems clear from the data presented here that immigrants encounter the Irishlabour market first and foremost as immigrants. That is, their labour marketexperiences are shaped and determined by:• their own cultural capital (or lack of);• difficulties in finding employment at the level at which they wereemployed in their home country;41
Page 2: 2Issues and Challenges in the Recru
Page 7: Chapter 1Exploring the Recruitment
Page 10 and 11: persecution. Economic migrants enco
Page 12 and 13: • The third group is the so-calle
Page 14 and 15: • Green Cards, which have replace
Page 16 and 17: Employment Services (LES) although
Page 18 and 19: Unemployment is not the only issue
Page 20 and 21: Overall, both official statistics a
Page 22 and 23: issues from the perspective of thes
Page 24 and 25: and facilitate integration and, equ
Page 26 and 27: Chapter 2Looking for work in Irelan
Page 28 and 29: and longer term aspirations with th
Page 30 and 31: In terms of public sector 6 employm
Page 32 and 33: immigrant communities have come to
Page 34 and 35: on courses they do not want to do a
Page 36 and 37: 2.6.1 Communication issuesAmong the
Page 38 and 39: • There was also the view that Ir
Page 42 and 43: • what they see as the reluctance
Page 44 and 45: are employed. By the end of the sec
Page 46 and 47: large organisations are more likely
Page 48 and 49: other occupations such as youth wor
Page 50 and 51: at 24 per cent (and just 22 per cen
Page 52 and 53: Other mechanisms to recruit foreign
Page 54 and 55: In large volume recruitment campaig
Page 56 and 57: Innovation in the use of testsIrish
Page 58 and 59: 3.2.7 VettingThe vetting of candida
Page 60 and 61: that considered foreign workers to
Page 62 and 63: Chapter 4Conclusions and Discussion
Page 64 and 65: of recruitment should be more integ
Page 66 and 67: Table 4.1:Divergent views of Employ
Page 68 and 69: Perceive written andlanguage based
Page 70 and 71: as either a basis for determining e
Page 72 and 73: It is reasonable to assume that in
Page 74 and 75: Of more specific relevance to the c
Page 76 and 77: public sector employers) as well as
Page 78 and 79: BibliographyBarrett, A and Y McCart
Page 80: O’Connell, P and F McGinnity (200
Page 84: Public Appointments ServiceChapter

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