Professional Integration and Belonging of Immigrant-born Early Childcare Educators and Workers (ECEC) in Darwin, Northern Territory (NT) of Australia

Are Peripheral Regions Benefiting from National Policies Aimed at Attracting Skilled Migrants? Case Study of the Northern Territory of Australia

“…They do not need an introduction to the area like the newly settled skilled migrants do. They may also be more likely to stay (Golebiowska and Boyle 2014), thus possibly removing some of the concerns associated with onwards mobility of skilled immigrant workers from the NT (Golebiowska and Carson 2009). In the family stream, there were nearly 5,200 partners who have settled in the NT between 1996-97 and 2011-12, and just over 12,000 humanitarian migrants of whom perhaps a third (adults) would be available for work and training.…”

What do we know about the experiences of migrant care workers in Australia? A scoping study

“…Following the stage 3 post hoc study selection, it became apparent that migrants’ experiences has had little attention overall—and only recently, with the first data collected in 2012, and notably then across three different studies (Golebiowska & Boyle, 2014; King et al, 2012; Scarino et al, 2015).…”

“…This is important because the lack of opportunities associated with not being able to gain skilled employment shape the experiences of migrants. Speaking to the experiences of migrant care workers in the ECEC sector, Golebiowska and Boyle (2014) note that many workers have qualifications that they are not utilising, such as degrees in biology or pharmacy (Golebiowska & Boyle, 2014). Similarly, in aged care, Isherwood and King (2017), drawing on data from the 2012 National Aged Care Workforce Census, report that about 33 per cent of Asian‐born personal care assistants (PCAs) hold a bachelor's degree compared to only 2 per cent of Australian‐born PCAs.…”

“…However, it appears only a small minority are employed in care work as a continuation of their previous career trajectories. For example, only a small minority of the 27 ECEC workers interviewed in the only study of migrant ECEC workers included for analysis had worked in the ECEC sector overseas, and the vast majority of them had no other related experiences, such as teaching or nursing (Golebiowska & Boyle, 2014).…”

“…Nearly half of the migrant aged care workers in a study by King et al (2012) had made a conscious decision to seek employment in aged care because they were interested in working with the elderly people. Similarly, in a study of ECEC workers, staff report on their love of children, how work is fun, enjoyable and satisfactory (Golebiowska & Boyle, 2014). Aged care workers emphasise reciprocity; when care workers themselves grow old, younger people will care for them (Gao et al, 2015).…”