Australia's unemployment rate has been hitting record lows, but it's a case of mixed fortunes for our new arrivals.
Mario Kharat has been a circus performer since fleeing the Syrian war. He trained in Lebanon.
But since arriving in Australia last year, the 18-year-old he has had no luck finding work.
"When I first came to Australia, I tried a lot to find a job in [a] circus,” he told SBS World News.
“I tried to find people to teach, and to perform in birthdays, but it was too hard because it's not useful here."
Career change
Mr Kharat is now changing careers. Along with friend and fellow Syrian refugee Majd Skeif, also 18, the pair plan to obtain the HSC at TAFE and then enrol in the police academy.
Mr Skeif had been a jewellery designer in Syria but is now pursuing an old dream.
"I was four years old when I said 'I will be a police officer in Sydney'. And I don't want to lose this dream,” he said.
“I know about myself, I believe in myself, and I know that I will..."
Both men live in western Sydney, where many migrants in the city settle. Their local church minister Reverend John Bartik said even refugees with more common trade skills are struggling to break into the job market.
"We're seeing old, young, I meet people who have worked in really specialised skills, really employable, but they don't know how to go about getting into their own specialised field,” he said.
“Some of them are getting jobs, but I keep meeting people who I go 'oh, you're just so employable - you would be an asset to any business' - but they can't find work."
Finding work: what do the stats say?
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, only six per cent of refugees find work within six months of arriving in the country. That number jumps to nearly 25 per cent after two years.
It is four times easier for male refugees to gain employment than women. Recent arrivals are concentrated in labour market niches including cleaning, aged care, taxi driving, security, and construction.
Professor Peter Shergold is the New South Wales Refugee Resettlement Coordinator General. He told SBS World News many migrants have skills that are going to waste.
"Barriers are language, clearly... [and] trying to get your overseas experience or qualifications accepted in Australia,” he said.
Professor Shergold warned that not having records of employment experience is also a hindrance to new arrivals.
“All of those things are things that we need to address," he said.
South West Sydney Local Health District has been helping migrant women gain employment through its Bilingual Community Engagement program for 18 years. (SBS) Source: SBS
Support surge
Despite the stats, there has been an increase in the number of community and government initiatives emerging nationwide to help refugees land a job. The New South Wales government set up their Refugee Support Program in July, connecting big companies including Google and Woolworths with new arrivals.
Professor Shergold said job prospects improve for refugees the longer they stay in Australia.
"Our experience, of course, is with refugees, with migrants generally, they'll have higher unemployment during that first five years," he said.
"Usually by ten years out they'll have higher employment rates than [those who are] Australian-born.
“Once you get people on pathways, and they have a clear idea where they're going, then you get much, much better outcomes."
South West Sydney Local Health District has run its Bilingual Community Engagement (BCE) program for nearly two decades. Female refugees are recruited, trained, and paid to teach women's health to other migrants.
"We give them a quite intensive comprehensive training to give women's health education in their language to their communities,” explained senior women's health promotion officer Sharda Jogia.
“We mentor them and then they go and mentor women in the community... So it's like a ripple effect."
The program has also helped women find full-time employment. That includes Syrian refugee Hadeel Aldairy, who is now a caseworker for Settlement Services International (SSI).
"When we started this one, that's helped us to improve our language, improve our self, improve our skills, and to be more confident in Australia,” she said.
“When I started to work and to have money from my work, I said to myself 'never come back to Centrelink'.”
Iraqi refugee Asmaa Yousif agrees:
"It's very, very, very good when we work like this because I feel it's helping me, and besides me it's help[ing] other people.
“When I arrived here I didn't know anyone because I was here just me and my kids. So all those BCE's that I met at the training, they became my friends.”
A fresh start
Iraqi refugee Naila Yousif told SBS World News she also gained confidence after getting a job through the BCE program.
She arrived in Australia four years ago with her husband, who was in poor health. Now she works for multiple refugee support groups, including SSI and STARRTS.
"This help me so much after my husband passed away. And I am now alone, but I can do everything,” she said.
“We have a logo: 'I am woman, I am intelligent, I can achieve everything'. This is very important for us."
Australia is scheduled to take in some 16,000 refugees next year. Half are expected to be of working age.
