The refugees and displaced people that we support come from 79 different countries and are 18 to 50+ years old. That’s a hugely diverse group of people, who have a wide range of backgrounds and experience.
Despite, on average, having a higher level of education than the British public, many of our clients face barriers to employment, which are exacerbated by an often-lengthy asylum process.
For example, while their asylum claim is being processed, most people are not allowed to work. Last year, 67% of our clients spent over a year waiting to receive their refugee status, and one in 20 waited longer than 10 years.
This creates employment gaps on CVs, means that people lack UK work experience and it’s difficult to build an understanding of the UK job market. It also limits opportunities to build professional networks. On top of this, often qualifications aren’t recognised here, including in medicine, teaching and law.
As a result, refugees in the UK are 4 times more likely to be unemployed than people born here, and on average earn about half the amount per week that UK nationals do.
Gaining that first piece of work experience is a big step on the journey to employment. It allows people to add UK experience to their CV and starts to build financial independence and security.
Clients have told us that is also gives them confidence, a chance to practice English with new people and to not feel so isolated. It’s also an opportunity to get an insight into the UK working culture, which can be distinct from other countries. Things like tea breaks, socialising, policies and benefits, and even our approach to customer service can all be different and new.
That’s why we’ve developed pathways to employment, which guide refugees step-by-step through workshops and assessment days, with the ultimate aim of achieving paid work placements and, hopefully, a permanent role.
We partner with businesses across the UK from a wide range of industries to design pathways to employment.
Our pathways are bespoke to make sure they meet the needs of the business, and of our clients. They often involve workshops to upskill our team and our clients about the industry and what is needed to succeed, assessment days or interviews, and then paid work placements for clients. Sometimes there are also guaranteed interviews for clients who successfully complete a placement.
We want to make sure everyone has as positive an experience as possible, which is why we provide wraparound support for the clients who are on placements. We also support the employer with hiring, onboarding and check-ins with line managers who are managing placements. This builds an understanding and awareness of the refugee experience, making it easier to welcome people of refugee background to the team so that they can settle into their roles and succeed.
We have supported a range of businesses with pathways including retail, healthcare, and engineering. Our candidates have been hired in roles such as Support Workers, Sales Assistants, Customer Advisors and Trainee Engineers.
We are always on the look out for businesses who are interested in developing pathway. If you would like to find out more, please contact us at [email protected].
