At Breaking Barriers, collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. As we seek to co-create thousands of jobs for refugees across the UK, we recognise that lasting partnerships and consistent investment can have a transformative impact on our ability to innovate and support refugees to build new lives through meaningful employment.
Over the past few years, we have built up a network of grant funding partners who have shown long-term commitment to supporting refugees into work, including a number of global foundations.
One of our most dedicated and longest grant funding partners is the S&P Global Foundation, who have been supporting us since 2019 as part of their goal to help build inclusive and resilient economies and communities.
Their funding support helped to launch the ‘Diversifying Tech & Data’ initiative with the joint ambition to support refugees in the UK to gain digital and employment skills to help them to enter technology professions, through a combination of one-to-one advice, education, digital training, and core employability skills training. This aligns with one of the Foundation’s key focus areas in diversifying the talent pipeline of the tech and data sectors and providing access to career opportunities for individuals from underrepresented communities.
As the trend towards collaborating partnerships continues to grow in the grant world, our relationship with the S&P Global Foundation has transformed beyond grant support, to engage their workforces in philanthropy, enhance employee engagement, and foster a sense of community.
Since 2019, the S&P Global Foundation has proudly supported Breaking Barriers in their mission to connect refugees with meaningful employment while diversifying the talent pipeline that is key to inclusive economies. A primary focus of our efforts lies in diversifying the technology and data sector by funding job training and placement programs developed by partners such as Breaking Barriers to help individuals from underrepresented communities. Beyond our philanthropic commitments, our people also actively contribute to skills-building initiatives through various employee volunteerism efforts."
Annette O’Hanlon, Chief Corporate Responsibility & Diversity Officer at S&P Global
Earlier this year, enthusiastic volunteers from S&P Global’s offices in the UK gave their time and expertise to host an interactive and impactful employability skills workshop for a group of our refugee clients, who were very excited to learn about the importance of ‘personal brand’.
Louise Brunhoj, Regional People Lead for EMEA, delivered a motivating introduction, highlighting the relevance of personal brand within the workplace and S&P Global’s People First philosophy, including how employees’ values, passions and purpose can contribute to personal brand and support personal employment goals.
As a result of the workshop, our participating refugee clients reported increased confidence in their professional skills, improved knowledge of the local work culture and greater confidence in applying for jobs, on their journey to rebuild their lives in the UK.
I found the workshop incredibly insightful and valuable. The sessions were well-structured and provided a comprehensive understanding of all areas covered during the session. The interactive nature of the workshop allowed for meaningful discussions and exchanges of ideas among participants, which enhanced the overall learning experience.
A Breaking Barriers’ client
Leveraging the skills and experience of their people through this workshop is just one example of the S&P Global Foundation’s commitment to supporting this important partnership and driving positive impact for local communities. The Foundation’s consistent support and commitment on areas where they can make a real difference means that Breaking Barriers can pursue more innovative solutions to help our clients thrive, including creating new resources, expanding our training offer, diversifying our volunteering pool, and crucially – improving our monitoring and evaluation of client progression through more extensive data collection and feedback.
We hugely appreciate the value of this strategic partnership and grant funding. Grant partners such as the S&P Global Foundation have the potential to help us invest in more job opportunities for more refugees in the UK, enable them to rebuild their lives and ultimately build sustainable generational wealth and have a positive impact both economically and socially.
We are excited to see how this partnership develops. If you would like to find out more about its impact, please contact [email protected]
