Latest news with #SamMatti
ABC News
2 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Almost half of refugees suffering from 'occupational downgrade' 10 years after settling
Engineer Sam Matti worked at a power plant in Baghdad, helping maintain electricity to the war-torn capital of Iraq. But he fled after the Islamic State group threatened him, putting his life and career on hold. He spent two years in a refugee camp in Turkey before finally resettling in Australia in 2015. "As an automation engineer, I was really hopeful to find something in my field in Australia," he said. But his engineering bachelor's degree from Iraq was not recognised in Australia, and instead he spent the next two years working in casual jobs, cleaning construction sites and catering at aged care homes. "You feel disheartened," he said. Sam's story has been echoed in a new report from the Department of Social Services' Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS). The report found that after arriving in Australia, most refugees struggled to have their skills and qualifications recognised. Before arriving in Australia, 30 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men worked in managerial or professional roles. But after a decade of residency in Australia, those figures dropped to 17 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. Lead author Dr John van Kooy said the study aimed to uncover how long it took for refugees to make the transition into employment and what kinds of jobs they eventually found. "What we observed in the study is 'occupational downgrading'," he said. "This means people had managerial or professional roles, white-collar jobs in business, human resources, marketing or IT — in their home countries, but they have been unable to reach that same occupational status or even a similar occupational status even after 10 years of permanent residency in Australia." For refugee women, the downgrade was even more pronounced. Among those who had been managers or professionals in their home countries, more than two-thirds (67 per cent) were not in paid work after 10 years of living in Australia. The remainder were mostly working as carers, cleaners, education aides or sales assistants. About 2,400 humanitarian migrants were surveyed over a 10-year period — starting when their first visas were granted in 2013 — as part of the study. A 2024 report by national not-for-profit service provider Settlement Services International found there was potential for a "billion-dollar benefit" in the employment of refugees and other migrants whose skills were thought to be chronically under-utilised. "There are around 37,000 refugees in Australia right now … working below their level of skill and qualification," said Dane Moores, SSI's head of strategic relations. The daughter of Vietnamese refugees, Nhi Tran moved to Australia in 2017 after studying business and customer service. She worked for eight years in operations and sales roles in both France and Vietnam. Despite her experience, finding work here became challenging and her university qualifications were not recognised. Ms Tran, now 36, worked for two years in hospitality for less than the minimum wage, shattering her confidence. "Especially when in your home country you already have manager work experience and you move to a new country trying to give you a different perspective and more opportunities," she said. "I don't complain about it because I understand if you face [a] language barrier, it's very hard for employers, but it deeply affects your confidence." According to Mr van Kooy, a surprising outcome from the AIFS report was the impact of social connection. "We found that participants who had friends from a mix of ethnic backgrounds — diverse friendship groups — were more likely to be employed than those who only had friends from their own ethnic background, or no friends," he said. The report recommended more coordinated recognition of skills and qualifications gained overseas, as well as inclusive recruitment practices and language support. Mr Matti, whose skills have become better utilised in his current job as an infrastructure project manager with Australia Post, said simplifying the path for refugees could make things easier. "Some of the skills and the experience locally is so meaningful and so important, but people with overseas qualifications also have experience," he said. "A bridge is a bridge … there are basic principles everywhere you go.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Sam was an engineer in Baghdad but couldn't land a callback for similar roles in Australia. Many face the same issue
When Sam Matti came to Australia, he had a bachelor degree in automation engineering and five years of experience working as an engineer at an electric power plant in Baghdad. After fleeing religious persecution in Iraq, where Islamic State was targeting minority Christians, Matti arrived in Australia in 2015. Here, Matti, who speaks five languages, applied for every suitable engineering job – but couldn't even land a callback. 'I applied for every possible and available position on Seek,' says Matti, now 37. 'The usual response was, 'Sorry, we found a more experienced person with the right skills' or no response at all.' So Matti worked a variety of jobs – cleaning, catering and working in aged care – whatever he could get to help pay the bills. His experience is not unique. Many refugees who have worked as managers and professionals before arriving in Australia struggle to have their skills and qualifications recognised, and are still experiencing an 'occupational downgrade' 10 years after arrival, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS). About 2,400 humanitarian migrants were surveyed over a 10-year period. The report found 30% of employed women and 19% of employed men had been working in managerial or professional roles before arriving in Australia. That dropped to 17% and 10% respectively after 10 years of residency. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Half of men who had worked in fields such as business, human resources, marketing and ICT in their home country were working as technicians, tradespersons or machinery operators after a decade living in Australia. For female refugees, the occupational downgrade was even more pronounced. Among those who had been managers or professionals in their home countries, more than two-thirds (67%) were not in paid work after 10 years in Australia. The remainder were mostly working as carers, cleaners, education aides or sales assistants. The likelihood of women who were in families with children under five being employed was 84% lower than men in the same situation. Dr John van Kooy, the report's lead author, said 60% of women and about 37% of men in the study were not employed in the 10th year of the research and were not actively looking for work. 'So not in the labor force at all, which is large,' he says. 'But what's interesting about that group is that many of them indicated that they do, in fact, want a job. 'We know from our analysis that they're likely facing these sort of multiple challenges related to having their skills and qualifications recognised, building up their English language capability, or dealing with some of the effects of forced migration.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion A 2024 report by national not-for-profit service provider Settlement Services International (SSI) found there was a potential for a 'billion-dollar benefit' in the employment of refugees and other migrants thought to have 'chronically under utilised skills'. SSI's head of strategic relations, Dane Moores, says almost half of permanent migrants in Australia work below their skill level, with humanitarian entrants even more likely to have their skills under utilised. 'Many refugees arrive in Australia with years of professional experience and valuable skills, but they face a system that devalues their expertise and puts up unnecessary roadblocks to formally recognising their qualifications,' Moores says. 'The process to have overseas qualifications recognised is complex, costly and inconsistent, and many refugees find it difficult to meet the rigid documentation requirements.' After two years Matti landed an internship at a leading construction company – and now works as an operations manager at Australia Post. 'Giving an opportunity to a person can be a life-changing event,' he says. 'I was given an opportunity, and I was able to squeeze every single thing out of it to be able to achieve, you know, better results for myself and my family and society in general.'
