ABSTRACT

International migrant and refugee numbers are at record levels and continue to grow. The construction industry is a major source of potential employment for migrants and refugees and emerging social and sustainable procurement policies in many parts of the world are also requiring construction supply chains to employ refugees and migrants as a condition of public sector contracts. However, there is virtually no research into the barriers that refugees and migrants face in seeking decent employment in the construction sector. Addressing this important gap in knowledge an exploratory survey of refugees' and migrants' job-seeking experiences in the Australian construction industry is presented. Results show that by far the greatest barrier to employment is lack of construction industry experience, followed by poor recognition of previous skills and experience. Recent migrants and refugees and those with the greatest previous experience of working in construction face the greatest barriers in finding decent work. Men from an Arabic background also experience greater difficulties than other cultural groups. It is recommended that policy-makers develop more initiatives to provide work experience and engage with construction employers about the challenges which refugees and migrants face in finding work in construction.

摘要

国际移民和难民人数处于创纪录的水平，并且还在继续增长。建筑业是移民和难民潜在就业的主要来源，世界许多地区新出现的社会和可持续采购政策也要求建筑供应链雇用难民和移民作为公共部门合同的条件。然而，几乎没有关于难民和移民在建筑部门寻求体面就业所面临的障碍的研究。为了解决这一重要的知识差距，本文介绍了对难民和移民在澳大利亚建筑行业求职经历的探索性调查。结果显示，迄今为止最大的就业障碍是缺乏建筑行业经验，其次是对以前的技能和经验的认识不足。最近的移民和难民以及那些以前在建筑业工作经验最丰富的人在寻找体面工作方面面临着最大的障碍。来自阿拉伯背景的男性也比其他文化群体经历更大的困难。建议政策制定者制定更多举措，提供工作经验，并与建筑业雇主就难民和移民在建筑业找工作所面临的挑战进行交流。