Limited English. Housing insecurity. Restricted access to work. These are just some of the complex barriers that refugees and people from displaced backgrounds face when trying to secure meaningful employment and start a new life in the UK. Alongside this, refugees are among those most excluded from mainstream provision and support.
Statutory funding enables us to deliver high-quality, impactful services for refugees. We work in close partnership with local authorities, combined authorities, and national bodies to deliver on shared priorities. Together we work to help people into meaningful employment, strengthen communities, and reduce long-term demand on public services.
Our approach: Collaborating for change
By working together, we create tangible, lasting change. Our partnership model focuses on three key areas:
- Responding to local priorities: We co-design tailored, person-centred pathways into employment, education, and volunteering that reflect local needs. By aligning with economic strategies, skills plans, and integration frameworks, we ensure our services are relevant, targeted, and cost-effective.
- Embedding inclusive practice: We work with commissioners and local partners to deliver specialist, refugee-focused services. This strengthens social inclusion, improves service uptake, and reduces duplication creating a more effective and equitable system for all residents.
- Unlocking long-term outcomes: Our programmes focus on sustainable employment and financial stability. By piloting innovative models and delivering evidence-based interventions, we help people move off benefits, contribute to the economy, and integrate fully into their communities.
Why partner with us?
- Our proven track record: Each year we support hundreds of refugees to progress into jobs, training, and volunteering.
- Value for money: Our model reduces reliance on welfare and crisis services, and could deliver savings across your health, housing, and employment budgets.
- Local and national alignment: We contribute directly to statutory goals on economic growth, social inclusion, levelling up, and workforce development.
- Assured delivery: With robust governance, compliance, and monitoring systems, we provide transparent outcomes reporting to commissioners and funders.
The in-depth, one-to-one support that Breaking Barriers offers to its service users, as well as the relationships that they've built with voluntary community organisations in Greater Manchester have supported dozens of people into good, sustained work.
Joseph Sheehan, Hong Kong BN(O) Programme Lead
