Joint Seminar CERGAS-Dondena "The role of post-arrival education and training participation on employment transition of humanitarian migrants in Australia: A longitudinal investigation"

This study examines the role of post-arrival upskilling programs, particularly the combined effect of English language training and further education or job-specific training, in influencing the employment pathways of humanitarian migrants in Australia. Using longitudinal data from five waves of Building New Life in Australia (BNLA) and multi-state modelling, I examine the patterns of employment status changes to gain insights into employment stability and its duration over time. The research also investigates how these pathways vary depending on the level of pre-arrival human capital among humanitarian migrants. The findings indicate that participating in both English language and job training programs significantly accelerates the transition into employment, especially for humanitarian migrants with low levels of pre-arrival human capital and for women. Entering the labour market early, within the first year of arrival, proves to be vital for long-term employment success, regardless of initial human capital. The findings highlight the importance of providing an intentional pathway of upskilling programs for refugees, particularly to language and skills training for the most disadvantaged humanitarian migrants. Combined language and job training programs can enhance not only language acquisition but also the practical use of language skills, thereby improving employment prospects for low-capital migrant groups.

Speaker:

Dr. Santosh Jatrana is a distinguished scholar in social and demographic research, currently serving as a Professor at the Alfred Deakin Research Institute, Deakin University, Australia. Previously, she held the position of Research Head at James Cook University’s Murtupuni Research Centre for Rural and Remote Health in Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia and is also an honorary Associate Professor at the School of Demography, Australian National University. She has extensive work experience in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and India.
Dr. Jatrana’s research focuses on migrant health and settlement dynamics, ageing and health, and primary health care. She has secured over $9 million in research grants and prestigious fellowships, including a Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowship, an Endeavour Award from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and an Early Career Research Award from the Australian Academy of Science.
She serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Population Research and has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. Her presentation is based on her Australian Research Council Discovery Project (ARC-DP) titled Humanitarian Migrants’ Pathways to Settlement in Australia: A Longitudinal Study. 

Link zoom:

https://unibocconi-it.zoom.us/j/91783284926?pwd=NHfQiZUjA71XJTWvcRYyRz3NNQFfZC.1

Meeting ID:

917 8328 4926 

Passcode:

104391 

Lunch at the end of the meeting: for those willing to participate in person, click here before the 3rd of June.