Refugee Employment - an insight from our forum speaker Betina Szkudlarek
Betina Szkudlarek - Associate Professor of Management | Discipline of International Business, THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY BUSINESS SCHOOL
Since the pandemic began, the economic landscape in Australia has changed dramatically. The freezing of inward migration whilst the borders were shut for nearly 2 years has had a dramatic impact on job vacancy levels, and even though this has now reversed, we are playing catch-up and have the lowest unemployment rate in 20 years. Large companies and small businesses alike are scrambling for talent, and yet recruitment approaches largely remain business-as-usual.
So what prevents companies from adapting their approach and enabling engagement with the total talent pool, including previously overlooked groups such as refugees? Research that my team has conducted shows that employers 1) don’t know where to start, and 2) can hold many misconceptions that prevent them from even considering hiring from this group. They can assume refugees lack skills or that their integration will be too cumbersome. Many employers might hold explicit biases expecting low-performance rates or absenteeism to be major issues. Evidence from corporations that hire refugees refutes all these unfounded preconceptions. In Australia, the examples of companies like Woolworths, which embraced refugee recruitment over five years ago, speak for themselves.
Organisations interested in exploring this talent pool are recommended to collaborate with a service provider specialising in refugee recruitment. Not-for-profits and social enterprises who are experts in this space can support employers in finding, screening and preparing candidates with a refugee background to enter their workforce and thrive. They can also help employers with cross-cultural training to enhance an organisation’s cultural sensitivity and support creating more inclusive workplaces not just for refugees but for their workforce as a whole. The Employers Guide to Refugee Employment – A Collaborative Approach is a great starting point for those companies who are new to refugee recruitment but are eager to start today.
