Crossing borders: key features of migrant social workers in New Zealand

The emergence of a mobile, professional social work workforce, successfully managing the demands of service-users, policy makers and the public at large in different countries across the globe, provides unprecedented opportunities for professional border-crossing. It is timely to generate New Zealand-specific data on professionals employed in the social services workforce in New Zealand so as to inform educational and institutional responses to this complex phenomenon. A study that seeks to develop a profile of migrant social workers in New Zealand and key issues experienced by these professionals, is underway. This article reports on the first phase of the project, comprising an examination of the key features of registered social workers in New Zealand with an overseas social work qualification and a review of issues and challenges faced by migrant professionals more generally, and by migrant social workers in particular.