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The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that as of May 2022, 100 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations. This is an increase of 10.7 million people displaced at the end of the previous year, due to the war in Ukraine and other deadly conflicts. The previous issue of Focus on outlined the role vocational education and training (VET) plays in helping refugees and displaced persons integrate into their new communities. This issue explores the barriers refugees face in participating in higher education (HE) or employment, and examples of strategic approaches to support their integration in both sectors.
A substantial proportion of refugees in the European Union are aged between 18 and 34, the age-range closely associated with (higher education) HE studies. They may be motivated to enter HE or could have been studying in HE before leaving their country, and may or may not be able to document their previous study achievements. Integrating asylum seekers and refugees into higher education in Europe: national policies and measures explores various strategic approaches for the integration of refugees into HE, including state financial support. The study found that among the countries with large-scale measures, the most successful elements were the provision of linguistic support, the offer of grants to refugees, the provision of personalised guidance, training for staff in dealing with refugees, and fee exemptions.
HE institutions may need to shift their mindset regarding refugee students. Rather than seeing them as a problem to be solved, they should be viewed as creative individuals with resilience, drive, and much to contribute to the institution. For people who have experienced forced migration, the sense of agency, control, and forward momentum that can accompany engagement in HE can become a vital driving force. Students from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds and meaningful participation in higher education: from peripheral to fundamental concern provides examples of approaches that encourage and support refugees in HE such as mentoring and a 'whole of university' approach to widening participation. Also highlighted is the significance that meaningful teaching can have on student experiences.
Australian research focusing on African refugees, Trauma, racism and unrealistic expectations mean African refugees are less likely to get into Australian unis, found that only about 10 per cent of young African refugees go to university within five years of arrival and that this trend has not changed much in the past 25 years. For those who do enter HE, completion is a serious challenge. In the past 17 years, only one in five African refugee students completed their undergraduate course. The article explores the challenges for young refugees including high expectations, what can be done to improve things, and why Australia needs more African refugees in HE. African refugee youth in Australia: higher education participation maps trends of HE participation and sheds light on policy silences and alternatives. The article calls for expanding the educational capabilities of refugee youth, specifically highlighting the need for policy recognition, early intervention, and substantive opportunities that can be converted into valued outcomes.
Career guidance for culturally and linguistically diverse migrants and/or refugees presents the findings of the first Australia-wide study into the provision of career guidance and reveals that few universities offer career programs and services specifically tailored to the needs of refugee students. Most institutions instead offer generic career and employment guidance for all students. An important issue identified was that many institutions place a significant proportion of their funding and resources into supporting pathways for refugee students to access HE rather than supporting them to transition out of HE. The lack of resources dedicated to supporting transitions out of HE constrains the ability of careers practitioners to interact with refugee students. The authors recommend that the Australian Government should recognise refugees as an equity subgroup and provide dedicated funding for career guidance. This is extremely important given the increasingly complex, ever-changing world of work in which careers are no longer linear, and individuals need to adapt to a dynamic job market.
Employment is a crucial step in the process of settling in a new host country. Through work, refugees become self-reliant and empowered to build a future for themselves and their families. However, refugees face enormous challenges to work in host countries. The labor market integration of refugee migrants in high-income countries determined that in general, refugees experience persistently worse outcomes than other migrants, and that supporting refugees in early labour market attachment is crucial. The authors analysed data from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, and found that overall, employment rates of refugee migrants are very low immediately after arrival in the host country, but typically increase quite rapidly over the first few years after migration. The time scale of integration appears to be much longer for refugees than for other immigrants. In addition to being employed at lower rates than natives and other immigrants, even those refugees who do manage to find employment generally experience lower wages than the other groups.
While many barriers to employment apply to all refugees, women - particularly young women - face additional constraints. In addition to legal restrictions, language and travel barriers, and poor match between skills and labour market needs, women are more limited by lack of safe and reliable transportation, gender wage discrimination, sexual harassment, cultural barriers, and more household and childcare responsibilities. Addressing employment obstacles for young Syrian refugee women looks at the Syrian refugee crisis in host countries Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon, where several programs are addressing refugee legal restrictions to work, providing training to meet labour market skills needs, and matching refugees to jobs.
According to the Employers guide to refugee employment: a collaborative approach, thousands of humanitarian migrants are granted visas to start a new life in Australia each year, representing a growing portion of the talent pool in Australia's labour market. Refugees bring a wide diversity of skills and expertise to the local labour market, but refugee talent is much under-explored. Beyond accessing skills and expertise, employers can increase their innovation capability through the fresh perspectives of refugee employees. Additionally, a culturally diverse workplace inclusive of refugees can foster a sense of purpose within the organisation. The Australian employers' guide to hiring refugees is a practical toolkit intended to help employers who are interested in hiring refugees but may not know where to start. It contains essential information about the logistics and practicality of hiring refugees and guidance on how to design and implement refugee employment programs to maximise success for employers and refugees alike. The guide aims to support Australian businesses in providing employment, mentoring, internship, and work experience opportunities to refugees.
In Europe, refugees and asylum seekers who require international protection in the EU must abide by strict immigration polies where they are required to remain in the first EU country they enter. Secondary movements, where refugees seek protection or resettlement in another country, other than the first country of arrival, is often reserved for the most vulnerable. The EU however, is starting to embrace more purposeful relocations. Relocation 2.0: tying adult refugee skills to labour market demand tested if, and under what conditions, intra-EU relocation of refugees based on skills and labour market needs in countries of relocation may work. Experience gained indicates six ways in which progress can be made to expand relocation in Europe, including: relocation based on skills could provide a new and purposeful relocation, taking the human and social capital of refugees into account by, at the same time, considering the labour market needs in countries of relocation; providing funds for identifying and counselling refugees in relocating countries, along with funds to establish networks of employers, are critical areas for investment; and viewing the private sector as a valuable partner can help policy-makers to identify labour market demands and the capacity to provide relocation places for refugees.
Higher education
Employment
Published: May 2023
Using references found in VOCEDplus and elsewhere, the aim of Focus on... is to provide an up-to-date 'snapshot' of research on topical issues in the tertiary education sector. Focus on... presents relevant and quality information including research analysis, policy, commentary, multimedia and statistics that introduce the topic and provide a guide to key resources.
Current 'Focus on...' page
The continuing Ukrainian refugee crisisSupporting refugee learners from Ukraine in higher education in Europe demonstrates a significant variety of policy responses to integrate these citizens into HE institutions. The most common support measures are:
The key messages from a recent OECD policy response on what is known about the skills and early labour market outcomes of refugees from Ukraine are:
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Casework support for refugee and asylum seeker students in tertiary education - webinar [Australia]
(Source: RefugeeEducation SIG on YouTube, December 2022)
Building higher education and workforce pipelines for resettled refugees [US]
(Source: Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy on YouTube, April 2022)
Unlocking employment for refugees [international]
(Source: World Economic Forum on YouTube, March 2023)
Supporting refugees into employment: a collective endeavour [UK]
(Source: Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) on YouTube, October 2022)
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