Fraidon came to Australia from Afghanistan a year ago and after a difficult start finding a job, he's now working as a software engineer.
The 21-year-old, who only wanted to give his first name to protect his family still overseas, studied computer science in Afghanistan and now lives in Sydney.
He said one of the main challenges for refugees like him was getting recognition for their education and skills.
New arrivals understood education standards in Australia were different from their home countries, he said, and they needed to do further study, even for jobs for which they were already qualified.
"They are just struggling … they are thinking how to get their certificates recognised and get a job," he said.
At the recent Jobs and Skills Summit, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil raised Australia's permanent migration cap to 195,000 as part of a government move to address shortages of workers.
That's led to calls for those already here as refugees to be given more assistance so they can fill the skills gaps.
'A huge under-utilised resource'
Settlement Council of Australia chief executive Sandra Elhelw Wright said there were many highly-skilled refugees, including those who had worked as doctors or pharmacists, who could help meet the skills shortage.
Research has shown there is a significant cohort of migrant engineers already in Australia who have long-term difficulties securing employment.
"We have a huge under-utilised resource among both migrants and refugees that are already in Australia," Ms Elhelw Wright said.
"They are incredibly talented, very hard working, but many of them are not getting jobs, because either employers discredit overseas experience … or racism also exists.
"Some people may dismiss an application that has a foreign name."
As a result, many refugees have found themselves either unemployed for a long time, or working jobs not aligned with their skills and training.
Giving skilled refugees job opportunities
In July last year, the government launched the Skilled Refugees Labour Agreement, in collaboration with Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB), to help skilled refugees find work.
There were initially 100 places over a two-year pilot period, the Home Affairs department said.
"The pilot program is a practical example of how businesses and business leaders in Australia can access the talent of refugees to address skills shortages," the department said.
In April 2022, the government added an additional 50 places for Ukrainian nationals, and 50 for Afghan nationals and their families.
However, as the Albanese government has pledged to "progressively increase" Australia's refugee intake to 27,000 per year, many organisations say the cap in the pilot program could also be scaled up.
The Refugee Council of Australia, for example, has asked the government to boost the number of places from 200 to 500 this year, with the cap rising to 10,000 places in 2025.
In a report released last month, the Refugee Council said expanding to 500 places was achievable.
"Particularly in the context of considerable private sector interest in attracting overseas talent and meeting corporate social responsibility targets," the council said in the report.
It needs 'a lot of collaboration'
According to Settlement Services International (SSI), recognising overseas skills was part of "complex systems" that required "a long and very difficult process" completing paperwork, providing evidence of skills, and finally — having qualifications recognised in Australia.
Some refugees were unable to take employment, education or training documents or qualifications when they fled their home countries.
As many of the skills and talent already in the country were not being used, community-based organisations like SSI have stepped in.
"We assist as the refugee navigates all these complex systems to try and get their overseas qualifications recognised in Australia," said Joudi Lazkany, SSI's head of employment services.
She said the program — funded by the NSW government — also developed customised employment pathways.
"We create awareness with the employers on how they can work with this community, but most importantly, assist them on breaking a lot of the stigma," she said.
Ms Lazkany told the ABC that SSI had assisted 8,000 refugees and 2,000 asylum seekers in western Sydney in the last five years, including Fraidon.
"On average, 35 per cent of our participants gain employment within the first eight to nine months of the service," she said.
When he joined the program, Fraidon was able to work with SSI to develop ways to find employment.
Ms Lazkany said their "unique approach" offered an opportunity for refugees to map out a plan of employment together with employers.
"That takes a lot of collaboration across a lot of stakeholders in state and federal governments and in industry," Ms Lazkany said.
Creating a ripple effect
Hedayat Osyan also had a hard time getting work after he came to Australia from Afghanistan in 2010 by boat.
"I started everything from scratch, I had no family and connection, it was pretty tough and challenging to navigate the system," he said.
After other refugees told him their difficulties entering the job market, or worse being exploited by employers, he founded Construction Community in western Sydney.
Although having limited resources, he said the company had hired and trained 76 refugees in the past five years.
Once refugees were employed by his company, they were trained and worked towards formal qualifications at local TAFEs.
Mr Osyan said three of them had now set up their own tiling company, and were hiring more refugees.
"They felt very empowered, because they can contribute to the society and they can help their families," he told the ABC.
Ms Elhelw Wright said "making things simpler" and giving support to new arrivals in Australia would make their lives more fulfilling.
"We can't see migrants just in economic terms, we have to see them in both economic and social terms," she said.
"And in order to be competitive on the global stage and attract global talent, we have to be known as a society that does support people who arrive here."
