TY - DATA T1 - Immigrants and the professions in Australia PY - 2017/11/23 AU - Bob Birell AU - Lesleyanne Hawthorne UR - https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/Immigrants_and_the_professions_in_Australia/5627593 DO - 10.4225/03/5a1615b7ef1db L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/9799321 KW - Immigrants KW - Labor market KW - Labour market KW - Employment KW - Professions KW - Statistics KW - 1997 KW - ISBN 0909685630 KW - 1959.1/726762 KW - monash:89841 KW - Australia KW - research report KW - Labour Economics KW - Statistics KW - Sociology N2 - The extent to which migrants holding professional qualifications have been able to put their qualifications to productive use in Australia has long been a contentious issue. This study provides some answers which we hope will allow the debate on the extent and causes of migrantprofessional progress in Australia to proceed on a firmer foundation. Since most of the statistical data reported is based on the 1991 Census, the results are somewhat historical in character. Nevertheless, until the results of the 1996 Census become available, which in the case of the variables discussed here will not be until 1998, all thosewanting information on the country-of-birth make up of Australia's professions and the relative achievement of migrants in their professional field must begin with the 1991 Census.There is no doubt that the overseas-born have made a major contribution to Australia's stock of professionally-trained persons. Table 1 indicates that overseas-born persons made up a remarkable 31.5 per cent of all Australians holding degree-level qualifications and 26.1 per cent of those holding diploma qualifications. These figures are striking because in 1991 the overseas-born made up just 26.9 per cent of Australia's population aged 15 plus (Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research [BIMPR], Community Profiles). This pattern of overrepresentation amongst degree trained persons applies to those born in both English-speakingbackground (ESB) countries and non-English-speaking-background (NESB) countries, and to each age group within these two categories (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], Social Trends, 1994). One should not conclude from these figures, however, that Australia has received a substantial costless bounty in professional skills paid for by overseas countries, since nearly half of the overseas born degree-holders gained at least some of their qualifications in Australianuniversities.Format 88 p.Copyright. Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash University and the author/s ER -