Routes to Employment: Successful Stories from Year 1
We’ve recently marked the first year of our Routes to Employment Delivery. Funded by Propel, we are exploring pathways into employment, including apprenticeships. In this blog post, you’ll find some of our favorite stats and stories of Year 1. Look out for the story of Routes’ participant Jovia, and reflections from our Project Manager Jocelyn.
Uncovering New Employment Pathways for Refugee Women
Since 2023, Routes has been exploring ways to dismantle systemic barriers that refugee and asylum-seeking women in London face when trying to access meaningful employment.
We began by conducting a 1-year applied research project to understand these challenges on the individual, sectoral, and employer level. We then launched a Pilot Project in late 2024, based on our findings that apprenticeships are an underexplored, and often misunderstood, entry point for refugees into the UK labour market. The aim of the project: to explore whether apprenticeships could be a viable pathway for women with refugee backgrounds to build lasting careers.
In May 2025, we delivered our first 4-week Pre-Apprenticeship Course, welcoming 22 women onto a programme designed to boost confidence, demystify apprenticeships, and build essential employability skills.
The Pre-Apprenticeship Course was as joyful as it was informative. Participants bonded as a group, sharing experiences, challenges, and aspirations. Together with our dedicated facilitators, they built the skills and self-belief to take their next career steps with confidence.
Since completing the course, we offered tailored support, including:
1-to-1 CV support with volunteer Routes mentors
Drop-in co-working sessions (online and in person)
Referrals to wider employment support organisations
Regular individual check-ins
Impact in Numbers
The impact of the course went beyond the knowledge gained in the classroom. Overall:
Women who felt they knew “a lot” about apprenticeships rose from 22% to 86%
Those with a clear career pathway increased from 36% to 68%
18% of the women felt pessimistic about their future before the course, but after, 100% of the group felt hopeful, with 63% describing themselves as “quite optimistic”
77% of the group improved their overall confidence scores
These results show that confidence-building is just as critical as technical knowledge in helping women with refugee backgrounds access work that matches their qualifications.
Picture-carrousel above: photos of the Pre-Apprenticeship Course Celebration Event, July 2025.
Success Stories Beyond Apprenticeships
While only one participant has had an apprenticeship interview since the course ended, the group’s overall employment achievements are worth celebrating:
At least 6 job roles have been offered
At least 4 participants have started full-time employment
However, apprenticeships remain challenging.
Despite their readiness, many women still face barriers that prevent them from even reaching the interview stage. These obstacles highlight the need for systemic change and more accessible hiring practices across sectors. We will continue to explore and find ways to overcome these barriers over the next year.
Jovia’s Journey
When Jovia joined the Pre-Apprenticeship Course, she was on maternity leave and actively searching for work. She had been applying to different professions she was interested in but hadn’t received any responses. To keep moving forward, she also applied for roles where she had some prior experience. “I started applying for roles where I already had some experience because they didn’t require many qualifications,” she explained.
The May 2025 cohort
Participants and staff of the first Routes’ Pre-Apprenticeship Course, with Jovia on the right.
During the course, an opportunity arose that changed her path. She had an interview scheduled on the same day as one of the course sessions, but Routes provided childcare support, allowing her to attend. This support made all the difference and led to her securing a full-time teaching assistant role. “It was really supportive and perfect,” she said, reflecting on how practical support helped her succeed.
Even with her new job, Jovia continues to pursue apprenticeships to achieve her long-term goal of project management in the charity sector.
“I’m still looking for apprenticeships in my preferred career, but in the meantime I’ll keep working. When you have an apprenticeship, you get to learn while you’re studying… you get the qualification and the work experience at the same time. It would take me straight into project management, as opposed to going the long route.”
Pictured: Jovia (with certificate) with the Routes team.
Jovia also highlighted the ongoing support she received from Routes. Staying in professional contact with the team allowed her to secure a reference for her job, which was crucial because one of her previous employers couldn’t provide one. “The course refreshed my skills and helped me stay connected to a professional environment,” she said, emphasizing how staying engaged with professionals kept her connected to the working world.
She also learned important information about apprenticeship eligibility that she hadn’t known before. “I knew about apprenticeships before the course, but I hadn’t been successful because employers said I hadn’t spent enough time in the country. On the course, I learnt that people with my background wouldn’t be subjected to the three-year rule. Had I known that earlier, I could have informed employers — it was really helpful for future applications.”
Jovia’s journey shows the real-life impact of tailored support — from childcare on interview day to accurate information about apprenticeships — and highlights why raising awareness about systemic barriers remains crucial for refugee women striving to reach their career goals.
Reflections from Jocelyn, RtE Project Manager
“Connecting with such a motivated and resilient group of women has been fantastic over this past year.
Although we have not been as successful as we had hoped in securing apprenticeships, we’ve gained deeper insights into the individual, sectoral, and employer-level challenges that need to be addressed.’’
Celebrating participant’ success at the Routes to Employment Celebration event
From left to right: Routes to Employment graduate, Routes’ Head of Programmes Wieke, Project Manager Jocelyn and Project Manager Roula.
‘‘We can’t ignore the wider context of a tough UK job market, rising hostilities, and increasingly restrictive policies which has made it all the more difficult. Despite the progress we make, it feels like we are heading backwards in a lot of ways. But that is exactly where a project like this, on innovation and addressing systemic barriers, can come in.
Routes remains committed to creating welcoming, empowering, and inclusive pathways to meaningful employment for women navigating the UK’s hostile asylum system. We know there’s still a long way to go, but I’ve seen first-hand the thoughtfulness and dedication of the team since joining Routes earlier this year. We’ll keep pressing for change, not just in apprenticeships, but across all routes to decent and fulfilling work.”
Want to learn more? Please have a listen to this special Refugee Week episode from June 2025 on the Experts by Experience podcast by Refugee Action. In this podcast takeover, Routes’, Project Manager Roula Kheder and Head of Programmes Wieke speak about community as a superpower and our Routes to Employment project in more detail.
