Eric, a topograph with a master’s degree and 15 years of experience in the management of large government contracts, did everything possible to improve his work perspectives before moving from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom in May 2023.
He assured the professional accreditation of the United Kingdom, settled in Manchester due to its construction boom and began sending its CV as soon as it had a permanent direction. But after six months of work lining, Eric, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, had only managed to find a two -month Christmas period.
Finally, he achieved administrative work in the public sector, still well below its previous level of antiquity, after attending a CV writing workshop.
“I feel lucky to be an optimistic person,” he said, describing the key to leave his previous career in Hong Kong. “For six months I kept receiving rejections and kept encouraging me.”
Eric’s experience reflects that of many Hongkonger with the status of British national overseas, of which more than 150,000 have arrived in the United Kingdom since 2021 on an open visa route in response to the repression of the political government of the Chinese government.
At first glance, the Hongkongers face less barriers to the integration than other migrants: many came to the United Kingdom highly qualified in their field, familiar with English and a financial cushion to help them establish themselves. However, many have been trapped in the casual work under payment because the barriers of the language, cultural differences and a negative to recognize their qualifications have closed them from their previous professions.
Research from the British future of thought thinking, Posted in OctoberHe highlighted the challenges that Hongkonger in particular have faced to find work to coincide with their skills. He interviewed counters who worked in kitchens, IT specialists in stores and a former editor who works as a waitress.
“There are so many Hongkongers in factories and hotels,” said Alex Mak, employment Hongkongers coordinator in Great Britain, a civil society group formed to help newcomers establish themselves. “People who had a very high socioeconomic status in Hong Kong mostly would not even find an intermediate management work, but at least have a job. Intermediate managers have to restart their career. “
The analysis carried out by the Migration Observatory of the University of Oxford shows that migrants from Eastern Europe and South Asia are significantly more likely to be overcap for their work than workers born in the United Kingdom, and under payment .
Recent Ukraine refugees have also had problems. A survey by the National Statistics Office last April found that while 70 percent was at work, only one third was in the same sector as before.
The data published by the European Commission show a similar pattern, with workers born outside the EU almost twice as probabilities of being overhably for their work than those who work in their country of nationality.
The Hongkonger are at a particular disadvantage because the terms of the British national visa (abroad) that most stipulate that they do not have resources to public funds in their first three years in the United Kingdom. This means that they cannot access most of the main aid. Specific assistance established for Hongkongers has been irregular, sub -financed often signed in excess.
But Heather Rolfe, director of Research at British Future, said she was still surprised by the scope of the problems found by Hongkongers, who were generally well qualified, competent in written English and more experienced than the young migrants who had come to the EU Bajo The EU free movement.
“There is an idea that the first generation receives the blow and invests a lot in their children,” he said. “In the past, he was realistic, there was discrimination. We should not have that now. . . It is a waste for those people and is a waste for the United Kingdom. “
His comments point to a broader problem for the United Kingdom, where internal migration has reached more than 4 million during the four years since Brexit finished the free circulation of the EU.
Despite the hope of attracting more qualified and qualified migrants, only a minority has reached the visas of qualified workers designed for this purpose. Much more have come to work in entry level roles, attracted by long -term visas introduced to address the scarcity of personnel in the sector.
Madeleine Summy, director of the Migration Observatory, said that the anecdotal evidence sugges .
Somehow, this was “a perfectly good policy”, helping employers in a sector with chronic personnel problems and giving migrants a gateway to the United Kingdom, said Sunk, but was also a waste of human capital. “If everyone uses their skills, I would see greater fiscal income and economic activity, and migrants themselves would be better.”
Marley Morris, associate director of the IPPR Public Policy Expert Group, said that for refugees, including Ukrainians and Hongkongers, and care workers who stayed in the United Kingdom, “it would be obvious to help them work in their skill level “.
Language is among the greatest obstacles: even Hongkongers used to write in English it was difficult for them to handle colloquial conversation and the nuances of office communications.
“I couldn’t speak a complete prayer, just a few words. . . I still have no confidence, ”he said in, who also asked to use a pseudonym. He worked in logistics and customer relations for 20 years before moving to the United Kingdom in 2022, but has struggled to find work even in warehouses, without the necessary driver’s license to reach the sites.
After attending language classes offered by his local authority, he obtained a role similar to his previous one, but it is still difficult to raise problems with his supervisor, join a small unknown talk and adapt his style.
“I had to change the way I write emails. There was no need to write complete sentences and worry about grammar. Now I am learning to write as short and brief as possible, just like a native English person, ”he said.
The will of the employers to recognize the qualifications that are not from the United Kingdom was also variable, the Hongkongers found. Persuading employers of the value of the experience obtained outside the United Kingdom was even more difficult.
Mak gave examples, including the credentials of Junior doctors, which are not necessarily accepted, counters who need to sit additional exams and social workers who cannot use their qualifications.
“Some people say they have been rejected in the interview stage because they have no ‘local knowledge’. Some may think that it is a reason to cover discrimination, but we are only guessing, ”he added.
Some Hongkongers said their prospects had been transformed by workshops on how to adapt a CV and address interviews in the United Kingdom.
“In a Hong Kong style CV we focus on the value of the contracts. They think that more value contracts give more confidence. . . In the United Kingdom they want to know what action he took and the result of that action, even if the task he names is lower, “said Eric, who won his current work after changing his focus.
In also obtained interviews and a job after adopting this skill -based approach, although it still finds disturbing cultural differences. “In Hong Kong, we do overtime. . . Or our superior will say that we are a lazy vague! She said. “Here, my superior will say that you must leave when your time is ready. . . I still feel uncomfortable, I just want to finish the job. ”
This suggests that relatively simple and limited support could make a difference, if it were more widely available.
In it is an inflexible persistence is worth it. “In the British environment, work culture is different and can be difficult,” he said. “It is not easy to find work. . . But given time and patience, you will find a job at the end. “
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