Routes to Employment
An applied research project tackling system change in unemployment for refugee and asylum seeking women
In 2023, the Routes to Employment (RTE) initiative kicked off with the support of Propel Explore funding. Our team embarked on a research project aimed at tackling the systemic issue of unemployment within the refugee women community in London. This journey was a learning experience for our team, involving engagement with stakeholders at three levels: individuals, women with lived experience of the UK asylum system; sector, organisations within the refugee charity sector; and businesses, as employers and key players in the systemic issue.
Our research incorporated both quantitative and qualitative data, collected through surveys, workshops, meetings, and literature reviews. The findings provided deep insights, enriching our understanding of the unemployment and underemployment challenges faced by refugee women, inspiring us to innovate and drive systemic change.
Routes to Employment:
research phase
Photo from a session with refugee and asylum-seeking women, as part of our Routes to Employment Research Project. Please download the research report below.
Our key findings on apprenticeships:
1) Apprenticeships could be a viable pathway for refugee women to gain work experience, develop skills, and access long-term employment opportunities. The normal criteria for apprentices to have lived in the UK for 3 years does not apply to refugees and asylum seekers with the right to work. This exemption is unknown by most providers, trainers and sector organisations - and allows for greater access to apprenticeships for the refugee community.
2) There is a significant lack of access of apprenticeship support within third sector organisations, including through the lack of awareness of this criteria exemption.
3) Apprenticeships may be seen as expensive pathways to employment for employers, with funding decreasing for individuals over 25. However, they are a great way to attract new employees and train them on the job, whilst allowing apprentices to learn whilst they earn. This can be beneficial, in cases were people have difficulty finding jobs via other routes, or come up against barriers to get their previous qualifications or work experience recognised.
As such, it is in exciting area to pilot and innovate, to see if apprenticeships can be a pathway into employment, that is beneficial to both businesses attracting talent and increasing social value, whilst supporting women from refugee backgrounds to enter the job market, build their professional development and networks, and gain relevant skills.
Funding is available for organisations interested in hosting an apprentice, as is additional support.
Summary of the challenges faced by women from refugee backgrounds with regards to securing employment:
1) Refugees face unemployment at a rate 4x higher than general populations, with women facing even higher levels due to the intersectional discrimination of migration status and gender.
2) 30% of asylum seekers are women, but nearly all support services are designed for the male majority, leaving women's specific needs ignored and unmet.
3) The current ESOL system is inefficient and lacks professionalism. There are concerns about overcrowding, slow advancement through the levels, and teachers having a limited awareness of refugee backgrounds and a focus on refugees passing in exams just to secure funding, rather than a genuine care to improve English language skills.
4) In initial and temporary accommodation, women report corruption, favouritism, harassment, and discrimination due to a lack of professionalism or training amongst it's staff members. There is a high risk of facing further abuse due to a lack of protection and awareness on how to report these abuses.
For further reading on this, we would like to highlight the report ‘Coercion and Control: the treatment of women seeking asylum in hotel accomodation’ by Women for Refugee Women.
5) Job centres have limited understanding of the asylum system and refugee backgrounds, leading to job fairs offering little valuable advice, underpaid jobs, and underestimation of the unique skills and work experiences that refugees bring.
6) There is no centralised, translated resource giving information on rights and access to employment support services for asylum seekers in the UK.
7) Employers have a lack of awareness of the asylum system, work permits and housing issues; and they often reject refugee applications due to concerns over legality.
8) There is a variety of employment support available across London, by both local councils and third sector organisations. However, many organisations face challenges when connecting with businesses to build employment programs for refugees, as did Routes during this research.
9) Longer periods out of employment, including due to the limitations on the right to work, affect confidence and self-esteem. It is difficult to demonstrate suitability for a job, when previous work experience was longer ago, or outside of the UK and not immediately recognised as relevant.
10) Women from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds have strong experiences, expertise and suggestions on how to improve the UK asylum system, as well as employment structures and employment support.