SBS Examines: Migrants aren't being hired in the jobs they're qualified for. It's costing Australia billions

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Many skilled migrants end up working in manual jobs with low qualifications. Credit: Getty / Hinterhaus Productions

Australia is facing a skills shortage. So why are migrants struggling to find work in line with their education and experience?


Over 600,000 migrants are working below their skill levels, according to a new report
by Settlement Services International (SSI).

"Forty-four per cent of migrants are under-utilised in Australia, and that’s a really big lost opportunity when a third of all our occupations across the nation are in shortage," Lily Jiang, SSI's Activiate Australia Skills campaign manager, said.

"From the stories that we see and a lot of the data that we see, they end up in a lot of cleaning jobs, hospitality roles, a lot of non-permanent work like ride-share driving, taxi driving, those kinds of roles."

According to SSI, if migrant workers had employment that matched their skill sets at the same rate as Australian-born workers, $70 billion of economic activity would be generated over 10 years.

This episode of SBS Examines asks why migrants are struggling to find work in line with their qualifications, amidst a skills shortage — and what the cost is to Australia.

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SBS Examines: Migrants aren't being hired in the jobs they're qualified for. It's costing Australia billions | SBS Assyrian