What issues do recent immigrants face in New Zealand?: a qualitative study of three professional groups: health professionals, engineers and teachers

Abstract

Since the late 1980's, New Zealand has experienced considerable change in its immigration programme. This has lead to an increasing number of immigrants from diverse countries settling in New Zealand. They have tended to be highly educated, with a wealth of experience and knowledge, and in some cases capital, which has contributed to the development and growth of this country. This thesis explores the settlement experience of some of these recent migrants. The objectives of this research were: to examine the usefulness and reliability of information about settlement in New Zealand that was received by the migrants prior to migration; to examine what issues arise for migrants in respect to English language proficiency; to investigate what barriers the participants have faced in relation to getting their overseas qualifications assessed and recognised in New Zealand; and to investigate what barriers the participants have faced in relation to finding appropriate employment in New Zealand. From July 1994 to June 1995, the Policy Research Section of the Department of Internal Affairs undertook a research project for the Ethnic Affairs Service into this subject area. This thesis is a continuation of this research. It has involved the in-depth interviewing of 22 recent migrants who were either engineers, teachers, or health professionals. An analysis of the in-depth interviews has found that immigrants received misleading and inadequate information before they moved to New Zealand, and that there was a lack of support and information once they had settled in New Zealand.. It can be concluded that immigrants who had difficulty with their English found this a barrier to finding appropriate employment. Also apparent, was the issue that English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) courses were poorly resourced, and the New Zealand Immigration Service process for assessing an applicant's English proficiency before they were approved permanent residency was inadequate. It also appears that the Medical Council of New Zealand is inhibiting overseas trained health professionals from working in this country. The participants faced a variety of barriers in relation to finding appropriate employment that suited their qualifications and experience. Finally, the length of time it has taken the participants to find appropriate employment, and the lack of support given by Government agencies to immigrants in relation to finding work is a concern. A number of recommendations are made at the end of this thesis which relate to the current status of New Zealand immigration policy (prior October 1995).