The hospitality sector as an employer of skill discounted migrants. Evidence from Australia

Although granted entry into a country based on their skills, often
migrants find employers and recruiters do not fully recognise
these skills, with many struggling to find employment that
matches their pre-migration capabilities. Economic necessity often
drives the skill discounted migrant to take the best job they can
get, to opt out of the labour market, or to return to their home
country. Researchers have suggested that the hospitality sector
provides ‘refuge’ employment for these vulnerable job-seekers.
For these employees, the hospitality sector provides a wide range
of jobs requiring different skill levels and language proficiency,
some with low barriers to entry, such as housekeeping or in the
kitchen. However, little is known about how skill discounted
migrants find these jobs, or their subsequent experience once
employed. Using data from the Continuous Survey of Australia’s
Migrants, we investigate the employment of migrants in the
hospitality sector, how they find their jobs, and their subsequent
experience in those roles.