Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of ...

1 Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of Immigrant Workers in ireland Final Report Prepared for the Employers' Diversity Network of the Public Appointments Service by WRC Social and Economic Consultants Oifig an Aire d'Imeasctha Office of the Minister for Integration Oifig an Aire d'Imeasctha Office of the Minister for Integration 1. 2 Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of Immigrant Workers in ireland Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of Immigrant Workers in ireland Final Report Prepared for the Employers' Diversity Network of the Public Appointments Service by WRC Social and Economic Consultants Published 2009.

2 3. Acknowledgements This research was commissioned by the Employers' Diversity Network, which is co-ordinated by the Public Appointments Service and consists of the following organisations. The Public Appointments Service An Garda S och na The Health Service Executive The Irish Defence Forces The Department of Finance Temple Street Hospital The Office of the Revenue Commissioners The Northern ireland Civil Service The Department of Social and Family Affairs The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform Dublin City Council F S. Hertz ireland The Office of the Minister for Integration The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Dublin Bus The Employers' Diversity Network would like to thank the Office of the Minister for Integration for funding this research.

3 We also wish to thank all individuals and organisations who took part and provided information as part of this project, in particular the New Communities Partnership who provided significant help and support in setting up workshops. Note: See Appendix 1 for a full list of organisations that participated in the research. 4 Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of Immigrant Workers in ireland Table of Contents Chapter 1: Exploring the Recruitment of Immigrant Workers in ireland : Context and Methodology 7. 1. Introduction 7. The Global Context of Immigration in ireland 8.

4 Migration and Labour Market Segmentation 10. Irish Labour Migration Policy 12. Other Relevant Social Policy Areas 15. Immigrants in the Labour Market and Workforce in ireland 16. The Well-Being of Immigrants on the Irish Labour Market 17. Barriers to finding work or appropriate work 19. Overview of the Research 20. Methodology 21. Structure of the Report 23. Chapter 2: Looking for work in ireland : The Experiences of Immigrants 26. 2. Introduction 26. Personal circumstances and motivations 27. Decision Making and Job Search 28. Information and awareness of Irish Labour market 31.

5 Getting help to look for work 32. Experience of the Recruitment Process 34. The Interview and Assessment Process 35. Communication Issues 36. Assessment Tests 36. Qualifications 37. Irish Experience and References 38. Legal Issues 39. Mindsets and Prejudices 40. Work Place Experiences, Retention and Advancement 40. Conclusion 41. 5. Chapter 3: Recruiting immigrant workers in ireland : the experiences of employers 43. 3. Introduction 43. Entry Routes and Recruitment Mechanisms 44. Implementing the Recruitment Process 46. Job description 47. Eligibility Criteria 48. Advertising Vacancies and Attracting Applicants 51.

6 Application, Preliminary Screening & Shortlisting 53. Testing & assessments 55. Interviewing and Selecting 56. Vetting 58. Post Recruitment Supports / Retention and Advancement 59. Conclusion 60. Chapter4: Conclusions and Discussions 62. 4 Introduction 62. Managing Diversity in the Workforce: the place for Recruitment 63. Key Findings 64. Ways Forward 71. Key Issues for consideration 73. Conclusion 64. Apendix 1: Participating Organisations 63. Bibliography 6 Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of Immigrant Workers in ireland Chapter 1. Exploring the Recruitment of Immigrant Workers in ireland : Context and Methodology 1.

7 Introduction Over the past fifteen years or so, immigrants have been a major and very necessary source of labour supply in the context of ireland 's rapid economic and employment growth. Consequently, this is now reflected in increased ethnically and culturally diverse workforces, albeit more marked in specific sectors of the economy. This presents Challenges and opportunities, for both immigrants and employers, but one of the more positive developments is the growing awareness of the value of diversity in the workplace and the growing interest in the effective management of diversity.

8 To date, however, the process of recruiting immigrant workers and its role in underpinning diversity, as well as in meeting employers'. needs, has received very little attention in ireland . This research attempts to open this issue for investigation by: 1. exploring how Irish employers recruit workers and the implications of this for the labour market well-being of immigrants; and 2. identifying the Challenges and Issues related to the Recruitment of immigrant workers that arise from the process of Recruitment itself or from the context within which it occurs. The research was commissioned by the Employers' Diversity Network which is coordinated by the Public Appointments Service (PAS).

9 The PAS is the centralised provider of Recruitment , assessment and Selection services for the Civil Service and also provides Recruitment and consultancy services to local authorities, the HSE, An Garda S och na and other public bodies. The PAS is committed to the ongoing development of best practice Recruitment and Selection processes that do not unfairly disadvantage any group and that facilitates and encourages diversity. In order to increase awareness and understanding and to improve practice in the area of diversity, the PAS established an Employers' Diversity Network in 2007.

10 This Network is made up of Human 7. Resource practitioners/experts from a range of private and public sector organisations who are interested in sharing experiences and developing best practice in this area. In March 2008, the Employers' Diversity Network commissioned the current research into the Recruitment of immigrant workers. The context for the research was provided by (a) the growing awareness amongst employers of the benefits of targeting a wide and diverse pool of applicants to fill vacancies and address skills gaps within their organization and (b) employers' growing awareness of their obligation to ensure that their Selection processes are as open as possible and that they do not alienate or unfairly disadvantage people from particular minority ethnic groups.