For migrants, a major challenge in terms of their integration into a country is that the qualifications and credentials they gained in their homeland are often not recognized in their new home. Research from Flinders University shows that this is particularly problematic in Australia.

“The relative lack of consideration given to the portability of skills is demonstrated through the skills mismatch and underutilization shown in our data,” the researchers explain.

Portable skills

They highlight that despite considerable government policies designed to peg the credentials and skills of migrants to domestic education levels and occupations, the problem of unrecognized overseas qualifications and experience endures.

What is perhaps most confusing for many migrants is that there is a gap between what the government accepts in the construction of the points score that allows entry for skilled migrants, and then what employers accept as a transferrable qualification.

What’s more, because of the urgent need for migrants to find a regular income, they’re often keen to accept the first job offer they get, which can increase the risk of such a skills mismatch. Indeed, data from the government revealed that around a quarter of permanent migrants experienced some form of skills mismatch.

Tech gap

This mismatch is particularly prominent in technology-based professions, including those working in areas such as design, business, HR, engineering, science, and health. The survey found that around a third of skilled migrants actively sought additional qualifications in a bid to gain credentials that were recognized in Australia.

Sadly, these efforts don’t appear to make much difference, as the research found that their employment status was scarcely any different from migrants who didn’t seek new qualifications.

The pressure to start earning as quickly as possible is often exacerbated by the fact that migrants are excluded from the welfare system for the first four years of their stay in the country.

“We recommend exploring measures within the welfare system that allow for more extended job searches to avoid the cost of occupational mismatches,” the researchers explain. “For Australia to keep focusing on employment or unemployment rates, it obfuscates the underemployment or the utilization of migrant’s skills.”

The researchers believe that their work has a number of policy implications, not least in terms of the advice and guidance agencies can provide to migrants and employers on the challenges involved, but also in terms of reviewing the recognition of skills and even the welfare system itself.

“We argue that Australia should consider developing a more coherent skilled migration process to better harness the human capital of skilled migrants,” they conclude.