The Edmund Rice Centre launched officially its new research report Refugee Employment Experience: Struggles, Strategies and Solutions on Tuesday 27 July 2021.

The report highlights the refugee perspective on working and looking for work by listening to what refugees themselves say about their job seeking efforts and their experiences in the Australian labour market. The report calls for several changes in how refugees are supported to find employment, including: moving away from the generalist Jobactive model to the provision of more tailored support, shifting the focus of employment support programs from providing training opportunities to creating opportunities to work, and addressing the systemic discrimination refugees face in the labour market.  

The report also highlights the role of the refugee community itself as an active and frequently effective provider of support to refugee jobseekers and calls on the service sector to engage more meaningfully with the refugee community as an equal partner in employment support provision. It is hoped that the recommendations proposed by this study will be used to inform relevant stakeholders, including Government and the community sector, and to improve policies and services for achieving better employment outcomes for refugees. 

Click here to download the report.

Also, click here to read ERC media release regarding the launching of the report.