Strengths And Struggles: Overseas Qualified Social Workers' Experiences In Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

A growing number of professionals practise in a country other than the one where they obtained their professional qualification. A mixed-methods study explored the experiences of one group of such professionals, overseas-qualified social workers practicing in New Zealand. This article reports findings from four key informant group interviews and an online survey (N 0294), including this population's satisfaction with their employment, their introduction to local practice, and experiences of mistreatment and discrimination. The study highlights migrant social workers' desire for better access to information and induction opportunities to orient them to the local practice environment and notes their experience of discrimination in the workplace. Such findings require a thoughtful response from practitioners and professional bodies and is worthy of further research and discussion. We argue that migrant social workers in New Zealand require orientation activities tailored to meet their needs and a more welcoming system of recognition of the skills and experience they bring.

Migrant Social Workers, Foreign Credential Recognition and Securing Employment in Canada

“…Our research supports the case for enhancements in terms of the quantity and quality of supports for migrant social workers, as has been established in the existing scholarly literature (Brown et al, 2015;Bartley et al, 2012;Fouche et al, 2014b;Pullen-Sansfaçon et al, 2012). In addition, clearer guidance throughout the credential recognition process for migrant social workers would be beneficial.…”

“…They recommend development of mentorship programs in combination with the implementation of several additional forms of support . Similarly, Fouche et al (2014b) discuss the need for better access to formal induction opportunities for migrant social workers. While these suggestions are a positive step forward in identifying the need for targeted supports for migrant social workers, current research lacks an explicit and detailed focus on how to support migrant social workers in gaining entry to the labour market.…”

“…Research on the professional migration and adaptation of social workers has been increasing in volume internationally over the past decade Beddoe & Fouche, 2014;Brown et al, 2015;Fouche, Beddoe, Bartley, & de Haan, 2014a;Fouche, Beddoe, Bartley, & Brenton, 2014b;Hussein, Manthorpe, & Stevens, 2010;Hussein, Manthorpe, & Stevens, 2011a;Hussein, Stevens, Manthorpe, & Moriarty, 2011b;Hussein, 2014;Moriarty, Hussein, Manthorpe, & Stevens, 2012;Pullen-Sansfaçon, Spolander, & Engelbrecht, 2011;Pullen-Sansfaçon et al, 2012;Pullen-Sansfaçon et al, 2014a;Pullen-Sansfaçon et al, 2014b;Simpson, 2009;Sims, 2012;Walsh, Wilson, & O'Connor, 2010;Welbourne et al, 2007). The existing Canadian literature reveals that the transnational mobility of social workers interfaces with the Canadian labour market at several critical junctures including pursuing credential recognition, engaging in the job seeking process, and adapting to daily realities and required tasks within the new practice context once employment has been secured (Brown et al, 2015;Fang, 2012;Pullen-Sansfaçon et al, 2012).…”

Reviewing the benefits and challenges of overseas practice: Reflections upon coming home

“…Finding suitable work was noted as a challenge in previous research for incoming transnational social workers (Fouché, Beddoe, Bartley, & Brenton, 2013;Papadopoulos, 2016) but this was not the experience of our outbound New Zealand social workers. Table 2 shows that most participants in this study found their first social work job in an overseas context within three months, and all had found social work employment by six months.…”

“…A social worker mobility research team based at the University of Auckland has conducted prior mixed methods studies of the overseas qualified workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand (Bartley, Beddoe, Fouch é, & Harington, 2012), experiences of migrant social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand (Bartley & Beddoe, 2018;Bartley et al, 2011;Fouché, Beddoe, Bartley, & de Haan, 2013; Fouch é, Bartley, Beddoe, & Brenton, 2013;Fouché, Beddoe, Bartley, & Parkes, 2015) and a small qualitative study of Aotearoa New Zealand social workers currently practising in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland (Beddoe & Fouché, 2014). Findings of the previous research have concluded that practising social work in a new context creates challenges and opportunities.…”