The article doesn’t say anything of the sort.
Heather Rolfe, director of research at British Future, said that, despite their high level of education, many HK migrants were likely to be unemployed or working in jobs below their skill level. They are filling gaps in sectors, including retail and wholesale, information technology, education and hospitality, she said.
Right, transferable doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be highly educated or skilled, just that there are opportunities available for that skill that need to be filled. Hence it was also mentioned in the article that the lorry driver who moved had no issues finding a similar job with the same pay. Sometimes it boils down to what opportunities are available, not necessarily how educated or highly skilled you are. Another example the article states is that professionals like doctors and lawyers who obtained qualifications from UK-affiliated bodies had it easier. Those who didn’t obtain those qualifications have skills that aren’t immediately transferable due to having different standards in HK and UK. So a lawyer in HK for example can’t just go to the UK and immediately practice there. Some doctors may transition to nurses because of lower requirements.
There is zero basis for your assertion that majority of immigrants weren’t able to find jobs their skills aren’t transferable. This affects certain professions to be sure, however plenty of people like software developers have skills that are very much transferable. Drivers are able to find jobs because those are the kinds of low paying jobs immigrants get, not because their other skills weren’t useful. And yes it very much does boil down to opportunities available, which in UK are slim to none even for people born there.
If you’re going to claim that lack of transferable skills was the core issue, then do provide a source to support your assertion.
Not sure if you caught my last edit before you replied, but there is certainly basis for my assertion, like the lawyer and doctor examples and the article stating that some had to take lower pay jobs because of lack of opportunities/vacancies and having to only fill gaps. Another example from the article is the teacher, whose qualifications might be a gray area because of different educational systems, so it may or may not be transferable. The article is the source of my assertion, because it literally points out that it’s the lack of job opportunities, the pandemic, and economic downturn that’s causing them grief. Tech workers definitely have an edge there as those skills are universal, and in that case it boils down to availability of jobs.
Another basis of my assertion is my own lived experience. I work in tech, so it was relatively easy to transfer my skills and my employer just had to prove I could fill the job vacancy. My sibling who is a lawyer doesn’t have that same opportunity because their degree and title are not recognized in other countries. My other sibling on the other hand is a RN in our home country, and by getting qualified via the destination country’s affiliated-bodies, they are able to transfer their qualifications to at least caregiver status and work in that kind of job, which is lower pay, but still a job.
I’m not claiming lack of transferable skills is the core issue, I’m just saying it seems to be a factor based on what is stated in the article. The article mostly highlights lack of job opportunities after all.
