Facts about migrant employment

If you're having difficulty filling job vacancies in your business, seeking to engage an overseas-trained professional may be an ideal solution. People from migrant and refugee backgrounds can bring not only a range of specialised job skills but also a wealth of life experiences and personal qualities that can make them an excellent addition to your team.

Video: Diversity is a 'no brainer'

'The ability to have people who think different, who look different, who have got different perspectives, come from different backgrounds, different genders, different experiences, allow us to have richer conversations, better problem solving in the workplace and overall better outcomes both for those people in the business and the customers and the communities we're serving.'

– Belinda Watton, Executive General Manager at Yurika, speaking at Reimagining Workforce 2023

  • [Belinda Watton, Executive General Manager, Yurika]

    It’s an incredible event and a wonderful initiative from the Queensland Government.

    With the ambitions we have as a state in Queensland, resources are critical to that and we know that we’re currently in a resource shortage, so to be able to have conversations around attraction and retention, workforce planning, how we can be more diverse and inclusive for all of the different employers and industry groups here I think is a real gift and it's a really important conversation that we need to have.

    For organisations to truly thrive in terms of their ambitions, as employers we need to look at what we offer and how we present ourselves differently.

    So from a structural perspective, particularly in male dominated workforces, we really need to challenge ourselves around how we can actually break that nexus and get better gender balance overall.

    The business case for diversity has been made for such a very long time. The ability to have people who think different, who look different, who have got different perspectives, come from different backgrounds, different genders, different experiences, allow us to have richer conversations, better problem solving in the workplace and overall better outcomes both for those people in the business and the customers and the communities we’re serving.

    So for me, diversity is such a no brainer.

Migrant employment in Queensland

Around 80,000 skilled migrants and refugees came to live in Queensland between 2008 and 2018. Research suggests many of these people are not using the qualifications, skills or experience gained before arriving in Australia.

Underutilised skills

49 in every 100 skilled migrants aren't using their skills or experience gained before arriving in Australia.

Workforce skills gap

Approximately 6,240 underutilised migrants and refugees had skills aligning with current skills shortages.

Economic benefits

The Queensland economy could receive a boost of $250 million over 10 years by utilising the skills of migrants.

Source: Seizing the opportunity: Making the most of the skills and experience of migrants and refugees (PDF, 1.2MB)

These figures indicate that there is a high number of skilled workers who are skilled, trained, and ready to take up employment in their chosen industries. So why aren't they already working in a suitable role?

Barriers to employment

People from migrant and refugee backgrounds have traditionally been underemployed in the Australian workforce. Despite having the appropriate skills and willingness to work, they can face barriers in securing a suitable role. These include:

  • language and cultural barriers
  • logistics – difficulty with transport and childcare
  • non-recognition of overseas qualifications
  • difficulty navigating recruitment and selection processes
  • discrimination and bias, including employer preferences for local experience and networks.

This is why you may find overseas-trained professionals such as engineers, doctors, teachers, project managers or tradespeople working in lower-skilled occupations such as cleaning, taxi driving or food delivery.

However, it may be simpler than you think to overcome these barriers to employment. Specialised support services are available to connect you with job-ready applicants with the right skills and experience.

Benefits of hiring people from migrant and refugee backgrounds

Benefits for the business Benefits for the employee

The business gets to:

  • access a broader pool of potential job applicants
  • hire skilled, job-ready workers
  • better reflect and serve their customer base
  • gain diverse perspectives and new ideas
  • improve team morale
  • if eligible, receive financial incentives.

The employee gets to:

  • use existing qualifications and experience
  • gain long-term, stable employment
  • learn new skills
  • make friends and community connections
  • experience Australian work culture
  • practise speaking English.

Broader pool of job applicants

A national shortage of skilled workers has prompted employers to explore ways to recruit workers from underrepresented groups – including skilled migrants and refugees – to fill job vacancies. By using more inclusive hiring practices, you can open up a much bigger pool of potential job applicants, increasing your chances of finding the right staff.

Find out more about attracting and recruiting migrant and refugee professionals.

Specialised skills and diverse perspectives

As an employer, you can benefit from the high levels of skill, education and experience that a skilled migrant or refugee brings to their role. Census data shows, on average, people who have migrated from overseas have a higher level of education than people born in Australia.

They may have unique experience in a highly specialised industry that is not widely available in Australia. They may also have international contacts, networks and supply chains that could give your business a global advantage. Their breadth of international experience and cultural perspectives can strengthen and add value to your workplace.

Video: Deen's story

Mohieddin ('Deen') Alasali is from Syria and works as an electrical engineer for SMEC, an engineering consultancy.

'I have no doubt that our organisation is richer and more sensitive as a result of Deen joining us because it brings in that wealth of life experience.'

– Samiul Hossain, State Manager Qld/NT, SMEC

  • [Mohieddin (Deen) Alasali]

    To me, this is my dream job and I’m living the dream at SMEC right now.

    My name is Mohieddin Alasali, I am an electrical engineer from SMEC and I'm originally from Syria.

    [Samiul Hossain]

    SMEC is a multidisciplinary, predominantly engineering consultancy, we operate both in Australia and overseas.

    [Mohieddin (Deen) Alasali]

    Being an electrical engineer at SMEC means that I have the privilege to work on major projects that impact the Australian society in a positive way.

    [Samiul Hossain]

    The whole inclusion and diversity concept and principles are a core part of our DNA, it's who we are as an organisation. We try to preserve, protect, foster and promote that whole sense of inclusion and diversity within the organisation.

    The way we go about doing this is we have what we call an inclusion and diversity committee within the organisation that pretty much works like a brains trust for our board and for the executive leadership team to achieve that, you know, diversity and inclusion objectives within the organisation.

    [Mohieddin (Deen) Alasali]

    Engineering was always my passion as an electrical engineer, my role is to design and develop sustainable electrical systems.

    [Samiul Hossain]

    I have no doubt that our organisation is richer and more sensitive as a result of Deen joining us because it brings in that wealth of life experience.

    [Mohieddin (Deen) Alasali]

    Relocating in a new country is challenging on different levels, and finding a career that match my interest and passion wasn't an easy task for me here in Australia. As a result, I was considering changing my profession. Right now my goal is to work on a major project within SMEC to gain the required experience to become a senior engineer.

    [Samiul Hossain]

    It's a known fact that the whole industry is facing serious workforce shortage and we also have massive unemployment and underemployment within the diverse workforce that's already onshore in Australia. So it's almost imperative for the organisations to go about and think about the whole recruitment strategy in a different way so that this huge talent pool, who's ready to be tapped on, can actually be accessed and be brought into the organisation and their value and their contributions are unlocked.

Boost the Australian economy

In 2019, Australia had the highest share of migrants (classed as those born overseas) in the OECD after Luxembourg, at 30% of the population. This was more than twice the OECD average (14%).

Migration provides a significant boost to Australia's overall economy and workforce through increased wages and productivity and greater demand for products and services.

Labour productivity

Migration boosts overall labour productivity. On average, a region with a 10% larger migrant share (e.g. 33% instead of 30%) has a 1.3% larger regional wage difference, which indicates a positive link between migration and labour productivity.

Employment rate

Migration boosts employment of the Australian‑born population. On average, 1% rise in the annual migrant inflow (measured as share of the total population) leads to a 0.53% increase in the employment of the Australian‑born population.

Patent applications

Migration boosts patenting in Australia. On average, a 1% increase in the regional employment share of higher‑educated migrants (those with at least a college degree) relative to total employment leads to a 4.8% rise in regional patent applications across 5 years.

Source: OECD: Findings on the effects of migration on Australia’s economy

Better reflect and serve the community

Workforce diversity can bring new perspectives and connections, better teamwork and problem solving. It promotes your business as an inclusive organisation to customers and prospective job applicants, and often better reflects the diversity of your customers.

For example, people from migrant and refugee backgrounds may know languages and cultural practices that help your business serve the community, especially if your business operates in an area with a highly multicultural customer base.

Video: Nour's story

Nour is from Syria and works as a Senior Member Experience Officer at Heritage Bank.

'For us, employing someone from our migrant community has allowed us not only to enrich their lives, to enrich our lives and be a better bank.'

– Sharma Haller, Heritage Bank, Toowoomba

  • [Sharma Haller]

    For us, employing someone from our migrant community has allowed us not only to enrich their lives, to enrich our lives and be a better bank.

    Heritage Bank was formed in regional Queensland back in 1875. Since then, it's become Australia's leading member-owned banking.

    The inclusive banking program began a few years ago here at Heritage because there was a growing number of migrants and refugees who are arriving here in our local town of Toowoomba.

    We've really felt that we had an obligation as a community and as an organisation to understand more of how they felt and how they really want to do their banking.

    [Nour Bitar]

    My name is Nour Bitar. I work as a Senior Member Experience Officer at Heritage Bank.

    I'm from Syria. I've been in Australia for almost 7 years. I'm always looking for an opportunity to grow.

    My long term and short term goal is to stay with the big name like Heritage and People’s Choice bank to get a better position.

    I just want to encourage everyone, all the employers, just to have a look, have a chat with the people from different backgrounds. We all have skills, we have degrees as well, but we just need the chance to start.

    [Sharma Haller]

    Through this initiative, we've been able to tap into an incredible talent pool that we didn't actually know existed and reflect the communities that we live in.

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