Access to training and learning opportunities is one of the barriers for refugee women with experience of seeking safety to start or progress their professional lives in the UK. This includes financial barriers, as well as other barriers related to accessing education. City & Guilds Foundation have therefore started a partnership with Routes, to support women in accessing opportunities through the City & Guilds bursary. A significant step in overcoming the financial barrier of the...
Refugee Support
Refugee groups have often faced significant trauma, and on arriving in a new country are faced with more barriers. When their basic needs are met, displaced people have the potential to be a rich asset to a society and address skills shortages – whether that’s through using their existing skills or developing new ones.
We are working with charities supporting refugees on the ground, helping them navigate the UK skills system and upskilling or translating skills to meet employer needs and ensure they can gain confidence and work as quickly as possible, and in doing so become financially independent. We are also partnering with UK wide organisations to shift perceptions about what it means to be an education provider or employer of sanctuary for refugees that are highly committed to integrating and contributing to society.
The latest Refugee Support stories on the City & Guilds Foundation website:
What we learned about making applications more accessible – for refugee women and for all
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Improving young refugees’ educational outcomes through our partnership with the Positive Youth Foundation
At the City & Guilds Foundation we’re passionate about advocating for, and supporting, people who face barriers to accessing skills development. Two years ago, we looked at supporting refugees as a beneficiary group – and have supported a number of different grass root charities in the UK who are making a quantifiable impact on many lives within refugee and migrant communities. One such organisation that we are proud to support is the Positive Youth Foundation (PYF) based in Coventry....
ReSET: Recognising strengths developed through lived experience
We’re pleased to be able to launch ReSET: a strengths-based engagement tool which has been designed using the lived experience of people who are marginalised.
Supporting refugee and asylum seeker women to achieve their career aspirations: a meaningful partnership with real impact
As we celebrate Refugee Week – with a focus this year on compassion – we want to shine a light on our work with Routes which supports refugee and asylum-seeking women on their career journeys.
Seeing first hand the difference that our funding is making
This is a guest post by Dick Palmer, Chair of City & Guilds Foundation and City & Guilds Group Trustee Being Chair of the City & Guilds Foundation is one of the jobs I am most proud of and privileged to undertake. There is so much social need in the world and so many people deserving of our support, so it’s a pleasure to be able to be a tiny part of making a difference – particularly in combating key societal issues through the work that is happening across the Foundation. Whilst...
Unlocking a Waiting Workforce: launching the refugee recruitment toolkit in partnership with The Launchpad Collective
There is a whole waiting workforce among our refugee population in the UK, yet many companies may not realise the benefits of hiring refugees as part of their recruitment strategy. That's why we've partnered with The Launchpad Collective to bring you an Employer Toolkit e-module called 'Unlocking a Waiting Workforce'. The Employer Toolkit is an engaging e-module created by Kineo that is designed to help businesses successfully hire and integrate people with refugee backgrounds into their...
£150k of funding to grass root charities who are supporting the refugee community
Like most organisations, we were incredibly distressed to see what was happening in Ukraine earlier this year. Given the City & Guilds Foundation’s focus on supporting people who face barriers to develop skills, we knew we had to do something to support not only Ukrainian refugees, but the wider refugee population too. Over the past six months, my teams have been working behind the scenes to understand the real situation faced by refugees, and to identify organisations who we could partner...
Reflecting on our achievements in 2022
As the end of 2022 fast approaches, the team at the City & Guilds Foundation took some time to reflect and share their top highlights and achievements from the last year and moments to be proud of. Laura Mountain “Thinking about what we’ve collectively achieved over the past year, it is really incredible and just goes to show what you can do with brilliant, passionate people who constantly pull together – and challenge each other – to do the best they can. A particular highlight for me has...
Unlocking refugee talent to access skilled people looking for work
The City & Guilds Foundation recently ran a virtual event with our partners The Launchpad Collective to examine how to unlock refugee talent to access skilled people looking for work. The Launchpad Collective (TLC) connects employers with refugee talent. Steered by refugees, for refugees, working side-by-side with both job seekers and employers so that roles are filled and refugees are empowered to contribute positively to society. TLC also...
