Refugee Employability Programme - London & North East

🔊 Join our network If you work with refugees, you can sign up to our mailing list to receive the latest updates from the Refugee Employability Programme. We send regular updates detailing our partnership work, community outreach activity, Service User success stories and much more. To begin receiving these updates, sign up to one or both of our regional mailing lists using the forms below: London: https://lnkd.in/eyY3ueMt North East: https://lnkd.in/essVFYhN #refugees #REP #WorkingTogether #joinournetwork

For the final day of #RefugeeWeek, in Bermondsey we hosted a second local support event to help our Service Users to access advice and guidance from local and national services. We welcomed representatives from the local Jobcentre Plus, Migrant Help 🧡 and National Energy Action who provided a wide range of advice around housing, benefits, and reducing energy bills. In Barnet, our supply chain delivery partners Shaw Trust attended a refugee employment event hosted by Boost, giving refugees the opportunity to meet with employers face-to-face and ask questions about open vacancies. After hosting the morning’s breakfast event, our North East team accompanied local Service Users to an event organised by International Community Organisation of Sunderland (ICOS) which celebrated the food and culture of different communities across the globe. We are proud of the impact the Refugee Employability Programme has on the lives of refugees beginning their new lives in England. Thank you for celebrating the contributions and resilience of refugees with us this Refugee Week. If you work with refugees who may benefit from free support to integrate into their new communities, you can refer them today in less than a minute via our website: https://lnkd.in/eEm3EWn5  

Today’s #RefugeeWeek activity saw our North East team attending a variety of events hosted by local refugee support services Walking With in North Tyneside held a ‘Happy to Chat’ drop-in session which allowed attendees to gather information about local support available to refugees, such as our Refugee Employability Programme, housing support, and more. Later in the day, members of the team accompanied Service Users to an all-women ‘Voices of Home’ event in St Mary’s Heritage Centre which was centred around women and their experiences as refugees. The event had a range of insightful speakers, live music and poetry, and a networking session where attendees could seek advice and guidance. The team also went on a tour of the Baltic Gallery of Sanctuary and the surrounding quayside. In London, our supply chain partners Catch22 set up a stall at a World Refugee Day event at Highway Vineyard Church in Newham, to speak with attendees about the support on offer through the Refugee Employability Programme - such as support with English language skills, finding a job, securing housing, and more. To read more about the Refugee Employability Programme including inspiring Service User success stories, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/eEm3EWn5  

Our London team hosted a local support event in Croydon today as part of our Day Three activity celebrating #RefugeeWeek. We were pleased to welcome a variety of services who provided valuable advice and guidance to our Service Users, including representatives from Croydon Council, the local Jobcentre Plus, CALAT (Croydon Adult Learning and Training), and Croydon College's team delivering the Department for Education’s Multiply scheme, who held a budgeting and financial advice session. In the North East our team has been busy attending a variety of events around the local area to raise awareness of the support on offer through the Refugee Employability Programme. These events included a drop-in hosted by FODI Sunderland, and a breakfast event held by Back on the Map. Supporting this year’s Refugee Week theme of ‘Our Home’, our North East team also attended the ‘Home is a shared meal’ event at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, and the ‘Our body is our home’ event hosted by the Comfrey Project. We were pleased to be joined by Rail Futures at our breakfast event this morning. They have many opportunities for people to get free training which results in a work trial. Thank you to everyone we have connected with for your time and support. We look forward to working alongside you to support refugees to begin their new lives in in England. Find out more about the resettlement support available through the Refugee Employability Programme by visiting our website: https://lnkd.in/eEm3EWn5  

It’s day two of #RefugeeWeek and our team in the North East are hosting daily breakfast sessions throughout the week to celebrate with our Service Users and connect them with Refugee Week events in their local areas. Today the team attended the ‘Work Smart, Live Well’ event hosted at the Cramlington Hub. The drop-in was specifically designed to support refugees by providing them with resources, networking opportunities, and connecting them with local services.  We are pleased to have attended alongside representatives from the National Careers Service, Northumberland College, B2W Training, Tedco, Northumberland Recovery College, and Reed in Partnership's Work Routes service, which supports individuals into sustainable employment. We also visited the Sanctuary Form event - an opportunity for people to learn, share and explore the issues related to migration and seeking sanctuary in Newcastle. Presentations were made by colleagues from Newcastle City Council, Newcastle United Foundation, Newcastle University, Baltic Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, Company of Others and Curious Monkey Theatre Company. Senior Operations Manager for REP, Adam Clemerson, said: "We were pleased to attend the Sanctuary Forum to hear about the trailblazing role colleagues from Newcastle have played in the City of Sanctuary movement, and marvel at the inspirational stories shared by a number of the sanctuary-seekers who have settled in the city." In London, our supply chain partners Shaw Trust hosted a ‘Celebrating Refugees’ event in collaboration with NCL Health and Social Care Academy, and the NHS. This event gave attendees the opportunity to connect with local healthcare providers, meet potential employers, discover learning and training opportunities, and access specialist advice to support them with their resettlement. Events like these are an excellent opportunity for learning and collaboration between services, and we would like to extend our thanks to everyone who attended. If you work with refugees who may benefit from support with ESOL, employment, or housing, you can refer them to the Refugee Employability Programme in less than a minute on our website: https://lnkd.in/g5TJmnpd 

Today is the first day of #RefugeeWeek, an annual festival celebrating the contributions and resilience of refugees. Our teams in London and the North East have been busy hosting and attending refugee support events in their areas. In London, our team were proud to co-host the Central London Refugee Job Fair in Islington, where 26 employers with open roles across London met with refugee job seekers to help break down barriers to employment and share information about vacancies. We were pleased to be joined by our supply chain delivery partners Catch22 and Shaw Trust who came along to provide support to attendees. We’re proud to have worked in partnership with the London Borough of Islington, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Ingeus, REN Refugee Employment Network, Renaisi, Tent Partnership for Refugees and Westminster Employment Service to bring this event to life as part of the Greater London Authority’s No Wrong Door programme. Read more - https://lnkd.in/esmkB2MD. In the North East, our team attended the Walk of Sanctuary, marching in a colourful display from Sunderland Minster to Barnes Park where a picnic took place allowing refugees in the local area to socialise and feel a part of their local community. Thank you to everyone who supported today’s events, we look forward to the rest of Refugee Week and the plans our teams have in store! If you are interested in learning more about the work of the Refugee Employability Programme, you can find out more on our website 👇🏼 https://lnkd.in/eawhDkqb

📣 ⭐ Discover how Hamilton used our delivery of the UK Home Office commissioned Refugee Employability Programme - London & North East to find a new place to call home and a job! Hamilton met his Case Manager, Laura, during a presentation for the Refugee Employability Programme (REP). As Laura presented in Hamilton’s first language, he felt at ease and decided to join the REP. A week later, Hamilton was evicted from his temporary accommodation. “Unfortunately, the week after joining the Refugee Employability Programme, I received notice to vacate the hotel that I was assigned to stay in,” said Hamilton. “I went to see Laura and she helped me to complete a homeless referral form with the local housing authority, and she made some calls and invited me into the office the next day for a meeting with their Integration Manager, Vanya.” The Refugee Employability Programme provides access to housing support, job search guidance and community integration. Our Case Managers will make a personal development plan that will help service users to settle into their new community and life in England. “Vanya was brilliant”, continued Hamilton. “At the time, I was sofa surfing and sleeping in a church, so she sent the necessary emails and made calls on my behalf to help me find accommodation. Laura kindly gave me a bag of toiletries which was so thoughtful. This brought tears to my eyes as it was nice to know there are people willing to help people in this way. “Within 10 days I was offered a one-bedroom flat within the area. I met my housing officer the next day and collected the keys to my new home! “I practically skipped to my appointment the next day; I was so happy. When I saw Laura, Vanya, and the team I showed them my keys and told them about my new place, they were all so happy for me, it was such a nice feeling, and I felt like my life in the UK was just beginning.” Our employment hubs at each office provide access to job search facilities, and up-to-date labour market advice from our local Recruitment Consultants. “Laura explained that our sessions would now be focused on finding employment, which I was looking forward to, as I felt like I’d reached the next stage of my journey.” Together, Laura and Hamilton assessed what job sector he wanted to pursue and to highlight his previous skills and experience in maintenance they created a CV and began applying for jobs. With Hamilton’s enthusiasm, it wasn’t long before he was invited to interview and offered a job! Laura supported Hamilton financially with funding for his travel costs, vouchers for work clothes and shoes, and the application of a DBS check which he required to start his new job as a Maintenance Associate. “I would like to give my sincerest thanks to Laura and the team, for empowering and supporting me on my journey, and thank you to REP for all of their support and assistance along the way”, said Hamilton.

Last week our North East team hosted their Quarterly Showcase event at Brunswick Methodist Church. We welcomed representatives from Newcastle, Gateshead, Wallsend and Sunderland Jobcentres, as well as Mears Group PLC, TKO "TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE & OPPORTUNITIES" LIMITED, Emmaus UK, Back2Work Complete Training, North East Migration Partnership, Groundwork, Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, and Northumbria Police. During the event we spoke about the journey refugees go on when joining the programme, some current Service Users talked about their experiences of our support, and former Newcastle United Football Club player OLIVIER BERNARD spoke to attendees about his experience of being a migrant and the difficulties that it caused for him. We would like to extend our thanks to all who attended for an excellent event, we look forward to connecting with you again in the near future. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/e8VkGXyJ If you would like to find out more about the Refugee Employability Programme or refer someone today, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/eawhDkqb #refugees #resettlement #partnership #WorkingTogether

📣 Do you work with refugees who require housing support? Hear how the Refugee Employability Programme supported Hamilton to find a flat and a job after being evicted from his temporary accommodation.   Hamilton met his Case Manager, Laura, during a presentation for the Refugee Employability Programme. As Laura presented in Hamilton’s first language, he felt at ease and decided to join the service. A week later, Hamilton was evicted from his temporary accommodation. Hear in Hamilton's own words how the REP team supported him to quickly find accommodation and then start working: “Unfortunately, the week after joining the Refugee Employability Programme, I received notice to vacate the hotel that I was assigned to stay in,” said Hamilton. “Obviously distressed, I went to see Laura and she helped me to complete a homeless referral form with the local housing authority, and she made some calls and invited me into the office the next day for a meeting with their Integration Manager, Vanya.” “Within 10 days I was offered a one-bedroom flat within the area. I met my housing officer the next day and collected the keys to my new home! “I practically skipped to my appointment the next day; I was so happy. When I saw Laura, Vanya, and the team I showed them my keys and told them about my new place, they were all so happy for me, it was such a nice feeling, and I felt like my life in the UK was just beginning.” Together, Laura and Hamilton assessed what job sector he wanted to pursue and to highlight his previous skills and experience in maintenance they created a CV and began applying for jobs. With Hamilton’s enthusiasm, it wasn’t long before he was invited to interview and offered a job! “I would like to give my sincerest thanks to Laura and the team, for empowering and supporting me on my journey, and thank you to REP for all of their support and assistance along the way.” Read Hamilton’s full story here: https://lnkd.in/eJ9Hh5xR If you work with refugees like Hamilton who require support with housing, ESOL or employment, refer them today on our website: https://lnkd.in/g5TJmnpd

⭐ Individuals accessing the Refugee Employability Programme in London have recently benefitted from an exciting new partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. We connected with Estée Lauder though our relationship with Tent Partnership for Refugees, and we have since collaborated with Estée Lauder to create an inclusive pathway for refugees to access vacancies within their organisation. We’re delighted to share that following an assessment day, four Service Users were given and have accepted offers of employment - one of which has since become the highest performing staff member in her store! Following the success of this initiative, we are pleased to share that we will be partnering with Estée Lauder again in the summer to support even more of our Service Users into sustainable employment. Special thanks to Jen Stobart, Jacob A. and our Recruitment Manager Yoan Infante Lafrontiere for your work on this collaboration. Read the full story on our website: https://lnkd.in/eAXTbrea #partnership #collaboration #employment #refugees #REP #WorkingTogether #ImprovingLivesThroughWork