Chinese? Sorry, there's no job

By CLAIRE TREVETT


Chinese immigrant job-hunters find it harder to get their feet in the doors of recruitment agencies than New Zealanders, despite having the same skills.

Victoria University researchers sent resumes from four fictional people - two immigrant Chinese and two New Zealanders - to 85 technology recruitment agencies in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Dr Anne-Marie Masgoret and Professor Colleen Ward, of the university's centre for applied cross-cultural research, found that in 27 per cent of cases the Chinese applicants were told there were no job opportunities and contact with the agency was terminated. That happened to just 3 per cent of the New Zealand "applicants".

In an equal number of cases, Chinese and New Zealand candidates were likely to be told there were no current jobs and that they would be added to the agency's database.

The mock Chinese candidates were less likely to be actively recruited. For the New Zealanders, 28 per cent of the responses requested contact and further information. However, only 9 per cent of the responses sought the same from the Chinese "applicants".

Dr Anne-Marie Masgoret said the results showed Chinese migrants were clearly disadvantaged compared with New Zealanders.

"It is hard to say if the reluctance is from the recruitment agencies or the employers they cater for. All we can determine is that the Chinese applicant was disadvantaged over the New Zealand one. We gave them the same experience so the only thing it can come down to is preference to New Zealanders. That seems to be the only plausible answer."

The four job hunters were given comparable qualifications and experience in the same companies overseas. The two Chinese had permanent residency and the resumes showed no lack of English language skills.

Dr Masgoret said New Zealand might be disadvantaging itself by overlooking the value of Chinese applicants. There was a need for highly skilled employees but when they arrived they were not allowed to get their feet in the door.

Ben Allen, IT manager for Icon Recruitment, said most technology companies had broad multicultural workplaces.

"Anybody eligible to work in New Zealand we definitely look at because in information technology there is a skills shortage in the New Zealand marketplace."

If there was an overload of applicants for any role, the New Zealander might get the nose in for communication reasons.

"Then we might look at the ones that are more placeable, and that might be Kiwis because that is what the client is ideally looking for."

David Wong Hop, a member of the NZ Chinese Association and the Auckland Regional Ethnic Council, said employing only New Zealanders meant limiting the talent pool. New Zealanders' qualifications tended to be more general than the highly specialised training many Chinese had.

Barry Hardy, manager for Elan IT recruitment, said he could not see any explanation for the results. He had never been asked not to offer Chinese candidates.

"In the organisations we do business with, we are never instructed to do that, nor would we choose to work with those clients who declined applicants based on their ethnic origins. I have got nearly 10 years in recruiting and honestly, they need to see a talent pool that is a global talent pool."