Speaking to HR magazine, Sally Eley, head of the CIPD Trust, explained: “Despite having wide-ranging and in-demand skills and expertise, refugees often face challenges getting into work. By proactively recruiting from this talent pool, organisations can tackle skills gaps and create diverse workforces.”
There are 482,800 refugees in the UK, according to UNHCR data from mid 2024. This figure rises to 611,100 when including asylum seekers.
Survey data shows that one in three refugees have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent; and one in four have a master’s degree or equivalent. (This survey was conducted on behalf of the Commission on the Integration of Refugees; findings were published in March 2024.)
For employers wanting to tap into this talent pool, what’s the key thing they should bear in mind? “When hiring refugees, people professionals should reflect on their organisation, its culture and ways of working, and consider the actions they can take to best support inclusion and belonging,” said Eley.
“This includes considering language or cultural differences, maintaining an ongoing dialogue, sharing wellbeing support and proactive check-ins, where appropriate. Small actions can go a long way.”
Read more: Refugees held back from reaching full potential in UK job market
Jen Stobart, director of Tent UK, a membership organisation for businesses that are committed to supporting refugees into work, added: “Refugees face many structural barriers that business can help tackle. HR professionals play a fundamental role in successfully recruiting and onboarding refugee talent.”
Among the CIPD’s recommendations for employers wanting to hire refugees is an appeal to ensure that an organisation’s applicant tracking system (ATS) is accessible, especially to people whose first language is not English. The CIPD Trust also recommends that employers seen specialist support from charities and agencies that provide refugees with language development skills.
The CIPD’s resource outlines relevant legislation and offers practical recommendations for recruiting and retaining refugees.
Praising this new guidance as “helpful to employers wanting to tap into the widest talent pool possible, Andrew Secker, employment law partner and head of London for law firm Mills and Reeve, expressed concerns that “recruitment isn’t the biggest challenge on employers’ minds at the moment”.
He told HR magazine: “The challenge for employers is how to maximise the opportunities in front of them at the moment, in a difficult labour market. What’s great about this guidance is that it helps employers wanting to tap into the widest pool possible.
“On the downside, the reality is that we’re not in a growth economy; we’re hearing that employers are looking at cutting their workforce, rather than recruiting. And, many employers will be doing [much of the actions that the CIPD is recommending] already.
“In a tight labour market, this new guidance will be most useful for employers recruiting to less technical or less skilled jobs. But it shines a light on the really difficult and important subject of supporting people in the workforce who are here legally.”
The survey that was conducted on behalf of the Commission on the Integration of Refugees, mentioned earlier in this report, was a poll of 1,189 people who identified as a refugee or person in the asylum system, and had arrived in the UK within the last 10 years. Findings were published in March 2024.
