Highly-skilled immigrants are finding it hard to get acceptance from recruitment consultants – much less find jobs in their professions – because of their overseas qualifications, skin colour, accents and ethnicity, Massey researchers have found.

From an in-depth study of educated immigrants from a range of countries, the researchers found that only a small number had found jobs that matched their qualifications and many remained unemployed or had accepted unskilled work. The barriers to finding employment were language skills, accent, ethnicity, skin colour, prejudice, lack of cultural understanding and a lack of helpful support from recruitment and government agencies.

The study was carried out by two Wellington-based researchers in the University’s College of Business. Jacqui Campbell is a lecturer in Human Resource Management and her colleague, Dr Mingsheng Li, is a senior lecturer in Communication.

Their study also raised the question of whether recruitment consultants are friend or foe to professional immigrants, after many of the immigrant group reported having difficulty getting recruitment consultants to refer them for job interviews.

The researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with 23 immigrants, five recruitment consultants and two immigrant settlement agencies. All of the immigrant group had bachelors degrees and 50 per cent had postgraduate qualifications. They came from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

Occupations held in their countries of origin included accountant, manager, diplomat, economist, journalist, judge, lawyer, marketing director, psychologist and school teacher.   

They put their struggle to find work in New Zealand, down to what Ms Campbell describes as the "conservative attitudes" of New Zealanders when it comes to employing people from different countries and cultures.

“Once they got through the lengthy and difficult process of immigration, they arrived in New Zealand qualified for professional positions and ready to start work and had not been prepared for the struggle that followed once they began applying for professional jobs and contacting recruitment consultants”, she says.

“Being underemployed or unemployed has taken its toll on these people leading to loss of income, self esteem and confidence. Three marriages broke down.”

Ms Li comes from mainland China but completed his PhD in intercultural communication at La Trobe University in Australia. When he came to New Zealand, he too, struggled to get job interviews in his professional area and worked in a factory as an electronic assembler for 18 months. 

“This group of professional immigrants is a potential asset to New Zealand employers because of the fresh perspective and experience they bring but it seems that employers and recruiters here do not recognise the value these immigrants can add to their organisations,” she says.

The researchers say their study shows a need for education of recruitment agencies, employers and government agencies.