featured-image

We have all heard stories about migrant and refugee surgeons driving taxis. or signup to continue reading And while this particular narrative may be an apocryphal urban myth, there is more than a grain of truth in the notion the skills and experience of many migrants and refugees are going to waste in Australia. My organisation, migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia, recently commissioned an economist to run the numbers on what a scheme to better harness the talents of migrant and refugees would look like.

The paper, produced by Dr Ian Pringle, found utilising the skills and experience migrants and refugees bring with them could benefit Australia's economy by as much as $10 billion over five years. It found supporting new arrivals to re-establish their professional careers in Australia could generate more than $2.5 billion in extra tax receipts as well as an extra $8 billion in earnings circulating in the economy over five years.



What's more is that the extra access to skills could also produce a 10 per cent spike in productivity while adding more than $10 billion to Australia's GDP over five years. The paper, titled , found between one-third and half of skilled migrants were not using all of the professional skills, experience and qualifications after arrival in Australia. It said barriers to migrants reaching their full potential included a lack of local experience and networks, unfamiliarity with Australian workplace culture and the job market, as well as la.

Back to Fashion Page