Employment disadvantages among Asian NESB skilled migrants in Australia: the case of Japanese independent professionals

Since the late 20^th century, skilled labour migration has become a primary channel for resolving the increased global competition, ageing workforces, and skill shortages facing industrialised countries. Despite this ongoing policy trend, skilled migrants–who are increasingly from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESBs), including Asia–confront barriers to securing employment that is commensurate with their skill levels, which exposes them to an array of social and economic vulnerabilities. This article uses qualitative data to examine post-migration employment disadvantages among an under-researched group of Asian NESB skilled migrants in Australia: Japanese independent professionals. The findings show that their employment disadvantages in the host labour market can be attributed to what is termed here multilateral contextual gaps in skills transfer, rather than simply a lack of competence, knowledge, or work experience. The article concludes by identifying the implications of the study, including policy changes that would help improve the skills utilisation and retention of skilled migrants in Australia, which appear to be hampered by the host country’s human capital-based, market-driven skills regimes. These changes are urgent given the imperative for societies such as Australia to revive their economies in the post-pandemic era through higher intakes of skilled migrants.