“The Refugee Employability Programme (REP) is a Home Office initiative for the specific needs of refugees, to give them the support they need to find work and build their lives in England. The REP aims to remove barriers which cannot be fully addressed by mainstream services” The new and exciting Refugee Employability Programme (REP) is…
Articles tagged with: Employment
Designing a pathway into employment
Employment provides a fantastic route to integration, helps people to improve their language skills and social networks, and of course provides greater wellbeing and financial independence for individuals. However, refugees can face barriers to obtaining employment which you may need to help them overcome. It is important that both you and the person you support…
Experts by Experience: accessing volunteering opportunities
For the refugees you support, volunteering can present an opportunity for them to build new relationships outside of your Community Sponsorship Group. Volunteering can provide invaluable work experience and also enable people to build confidence and improve language skills. As an expert by experience, Abdullah has also written a message for refugees who might be…
Experts by Experience: setting up your own business
Setting up their own business is the ambition of many refugees welcomed to the UK. While route to entrepreneurship isn’t easy or short, it is also far from impossible as demonstrated by Basel. We met with him on Zoom to talk about his business – ZR Tiling Services, his passion for his work, the support he…
Understanding maternity care in the UK
Community Sponsorship groups have supported many families that continue to grow after being resettled to the UK, with babies being born after resettlement. Although this is often happy news for the family, it can be bittersweet in the absence of their extended family network. You cannot replace family, nor should you try, but you can…
Working with Jobcentres
All adult refugees who are resettled via Community Sponsorship will be entitled to claim benefits, and as a Community Sponsorship Group, it’s recommended that you find out as much as possible in your research to complete your application form. You will be working in the abstract (you won’t know the composition or size of the…
Accessing employment and volunteering opportunities
As part of the application process, you will have thought about how you could assist adults to access volunteer and employment opportunities. You might already have plans on how you will support adults in writing their CV, or preparing for interviews. It can be a challenge to manage the expectations of newcomers in terms of employment and how possible…
Employment support in Scotland
Scottish Refugee Council can offer refugees support and advice on employability. They also work with employers such as Greggs, Starbucks and others to support refugees with short training courses which provide people with: An understanding of the UK job marketWhere to look for workIdentifying transferable skillsCreating CVsAdvice on completing application forms and the application processInterview…
Interview preparation
In many countries the process of applying for and getting a job is very different to the UK. This is particularly true for the interview stage of an application when you have to present your skills, ‘sell’ your experience and strengths. This may be completely new to some and initially quite uncomfortable. Remember that some refugees…
Reaching out to other organisations
As part of your Community Sponsorship application, you will be doing lots of research into the services and organisations in your area that may be able to provide advice and support to the family you are supporting. As a Community Sponsorship Group, you aren’t expected to be experts on every subject, instead, you need to…
Self-employment and entrepreneurship
Many refugees arriving to the UK have previous experience of some form of entrepreneurship in their life before they came to the UK. The person you support may feel that starting their own business in the UK will be the best way for them to have their own source of income. However, navigating the rules and regulations…