Foundation & Friends Podcast: Unlocking Hidden Refugee Talent with Jessica Ridgewell from Breaking Barriers

by Jun 19, 2024Awareness Raising, Charity partners, Lived Experience, Podcasts, Refugee support0 comments

How employers can harness the potential of refugee candidates

While many UK employers will be aware of the social value associated with supporting refugees, not all will be aware of how best to harness the talent and experience that refugees can bring to the workplace. In this podcast, host Lauren Roberts is joined by Jessica Ridgewell, Head of Corporate Partnerships, Breaking Barriers, who shares her experience of helping major UK businesses to access, integrate and benefit from refugee talent. Topics include:

  •  Recognising the obstacles faced by refugee candidates
  •  The role of the private sector in supporting refugees into employment
  •  Best practice for embedding refugee candidates into the workforce
  •  How modern tools and trends can be applied to support and upskill refugees
  •  How employers can advocate internally for policies which support refugee clients

For further information about the material quoted in this episode visit:

For more episodes from the series click here.

Want to be kept up to date?

Sign up to City & Guilds Foundation email alerts and newsletter

Previous posts

Championing change: our role as co-conveners of the ACF Criminal Justice Network

At City & Guilds Foundation, we believe in removing barriers and creating opportunities for those who need them most. That’s why we’re proud to be co-conveners of the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) Criminal Justice Network, alongside Co-op Foundation....

Celebrating 25 years of our bursary programme: Transforming lives, families and communities

2025 marks a major milestone: 25 years of the our bursary scheme. In 2000, City and Guilds of London Institute celebrated its Charter Centenary by awarding 100 bursaries and since then the programme has helped thousands of people overcome financial and personal...

Modern Work Experience: Creating Fair and Future-Ready Opportunities for Every Young Person

Work experience isn’t what it used to be and that’s a good thing. The UK is on the cusp of a real shift in how young people engage with the world of work, moving from a box-ticking placement to a modern, structured, and equitable programme. But ambition alone won’t...

A decade of excellence: Royal recognition for UK and Irish organisations honoured at the Princess Royal Training Awards

On Tuesday 2 December, in an awards ceremony at Fishmongers Hall, the City & Guilds Foundation had the honour of recognising 56 outstanding employers who offer leading edge training programmes to their staff. City & Guilds Foundation President, Her Royal...

City & Guilds Foundation supports women to gain DIY skills through new housing partnership

City & Guilds Foundation has awarded funding to support a pilot project led by employment support social enterprise Frameworks, in partnership with Build Salford and Salix Homes, a key provider of social housing in Salford. The Women in Maintenance project has so...

Celebrating Excellence: Fellowship Luncheon at Imperial College London

Earlier this week we hosted a Fellowship Luncheon with Imperial College London, held once again at the elegant 170 Queen’s Gate. This prestigious event brought together Fellows of the City and Guilds of London Institute (CGLI) to celebrate excellence and achievement...

£247,000 awarded to support young Londoners’ futures

We’re pleased to announce the first round of funding from our newly established Transitions Commission, which has seen us award £247,000 in grants to three London-based charities which are dedicated to helping young people move successfully into education and...

Transforming access to STEM with EngineeringUK

We’re proud to announce a groundbreaking five-year partnership with EngineeringUK aimed at improving access to high-quality STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) experiences for secondary school students across the UK. This initiative represents a...

The City & Guilds Foundation announces 19 exceptional recipients of the 2025 Membership Awards

The City & Guilds Foundation is delighted to announce the 19 outstanding tutors and trainers recognised as recipients of the 2025 Membership Awards – a prestigious programme celebrating those who go above and beyond to transform lives through skills and training....

A New Chapter for the City & Guilds Foundation

The City & Guilds of London Institute has entered a landmark agreement with global leader in education and assessment PeopleCert, marking a pivotal moment in which our revenue-generating activities will be enabled to access greater investment, and have greater...

Podcast episodes

Foundation & Friends Podcast (2024-)

​Green Skills Podcast in collaboration with Green Edge (2024-)

Hosted by Dr. Michael Cross and Fraser Harper, this podcast series explores the critical transition towards a sustainable planet and the pivotal role of green skills in shaping the economy.

Listen now

Share This
City & Guilds Foundation
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. For more information see our privacy policy.