Refugees face a number of barriers in attempting to secure jobs which match their qualifications, a new study has found.
Despite skills shortages in the medical profession, it found that doctors who are refugees encounter particular difficulties in accessing suitable employment.
Those granted refugee status in Ireland have the same work and welfare entitlements as Irish citizens. An unofficial estimate, however, puts the employment rate among refugees in Ireland at between 30 per cent and 40 per cent.
The study was carried out in Ireland by the Spiritan Asylum Services Initiative (SPIRASI) as a part of an EU-wide research programme.
At European level, the study found that the potential of refugees was at present under-utilised by employers.
"Many hold academic or professional qualifications and have considerable experience. They are highly-motivated and employers who recruited refugees report being very satisfied with their work performance," it said.
The Irish study involved 16 interviews carried out in Dublin, Athlone, Limerick and Galway with refugees who are currently employed or are seeking jobs in health, social work, information technology, accounting, management or education.
Five of those who were interviewed felt that their current jobs did not reflect the level of skills and knowledge they had acquired in their countries of origin.
Another seven, six of them doctors, felt that their existing jobs only party reflected their level of skills.
The doctors concerned currently work on various programmes assisting asylum-seekers, refugees and members of ethnic minority groups.
One, for example, is employed by the Northern Area Health Board as a cultural mediator, dealing especially with separated children, the study said.
The main reason cited by the interviewees for their failure to secure posts as doctors was the lack of recognition of their qualifications by the Medical Council.
A similar refusal to recognise qualifications in other areas was also cited as a difficulty for other participants in the study.
Another problem which was highlighted was the length of time it can take to secure refugee status.
One interviewee's asylum process took three years to complete, during which time he was not entitled to seek work.
The resulting three-year "gap" in his CV was a "major barrier" in his attempt to secure work, he said.
Health problems due to pre-migratory traumas, such as multiple family bereavements, and difficulties in obtaining references from their country of origin were also cited as major barriers in the study.
It said that while there were a number of EU directives regulating the recognition of European qualifications, there was as yet no regulating body for non-EU qualifications.
The study is one of three being launched by SPIRASI today at the European Parliament Office in Dublin. The other two deal with healthcare and care of the survivors of torture.
