Talent unlocked

Helping refugees with a STEM background to rebuild their careers

According to Breaking Barriers, refugee unemployment in the UK is three times the national average. A Commission on the Integration of Refugees report from Woolf Institute reveals that half of refugees in the UK hold qualifications equivalent to A-levels or above, and 25% hold a Master’s degree or equivalent. Yet the report finds that underemployment remains a 'major challenge', with one in three unable to use their existing skills. 

It emphasises that employment is key for integration and would unlock an estimated £1.2bln in economic benefits in just five years, reduce reliance on public funds by £6.7bln, and combat homelessness, building self-reliance and improving mental health. 

A refugee mentee, supported by the Refugee Employment Network (REN), lays bare the challenges. 'Becoming a refugee or fleeing a war is not a choice. You suddenly find yourself in entirely unfamiliar circumstances, without any preparation, losing not just financial security, but also your social network. This leads to one of the first major barriers I faced – the lack of information and the absence of a network to help bridge that gap. It can make you feel almost invisible.'

Inspiration for change

Many of the organisations interviewed for this piece recognise the huge disparity in employment in refugee communities compared to the national average and cite it as the major reason for undertaking their programmes to support refugees into employment.

Head of Programmes at Breaking Barriers, Helen Mebrate, says, 'Refugees living in the UK face a variety of barriers to employment, including employment gaps on CVs due to the often-lengthy asylum process; lack of UK work experience; limited understanding of the UK job market and no professional networks; non-recognition of qualifications; language barriers; cultural differences; public misconceptions; and discrimination.' 

Mebrate sees an opportunity behind the gloomy statistics. She acknowledges many of their 'clients' have relevant transferable skills in high demand in the UK for the energy transition.

This summer, Breaking Barriers announced a two-year partnership with Shell UK called Powering Refugee Employment, to enable 320 refugees into jobs, education and training, including helping 60 refugees into energy transition roles.  

The Breaking Barriers Employment Services Team offers one-to-one support, alongside a bespoke programme with Shell and other partners for six cohorts of refugees focused on a range of industries. Cohort one focused on engineering, architecture and construction in the built environment, while cohort two focused on sustainable technology and IT. 

Activities include workshops, employer insight sessions, training pathways and mentoring. This will ensure that participants gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, as well as making key connections and networking with employers. Shell volunteers work directly with the candidates. 

One Breaking Barriers client has already secured paid employment as an architect. Another programme participant shares, 'I learnt more about the huge untapped potential within the renewable energy industry and the holistic approach major companies like Shell are taking toward net-zero and the UN Sustainability Goals.'

Laying the groundwork

REN is the UK’s only national network dedicated exclusively to refugee employment. Its mission is to ensure that all refugees can access appropriate, fulfilling and paid employment or self-employment in the UK.

REN partnered with the Engineering Council to provide a mentoring programme, so that engineers and technicians with refugee status can find roles that match their skills, qualifications and re-enter their profession in the UK. Professional engineering institutions (PEIs) have the opportunity to identify and recruit members as potential mentors. The steering group, with leaders across the engineering industry and PEIs, helps advise, shape and steer the programme. PEIs represented on the group include IOM3, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Engineering Council and the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers. 

Jenny Walton, Chief Executive of REN, says, 'We recruited mentees through REN’s network members, including local refugee support charities.' Several of the mentees identified in the pilot had backgrounds in civil engineering (see box-out left). 

Similarly, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Trust’s Rebuilding Futures programme connects refugees with specialist mentoring and employment support, helping them restart their careers and 'thrive in the workplace'. HR professionals are invited as mentors from different organisations and sectors. 

The CIPD Trust’s refugee support initiative started with the advent of hostilities in Ukraine, though they have gone on to help people from countries like Afghanistan and Syria.

Allie Platt, CIPD Trust Programme Executive, saw the need for the programme in conversations with refugee clients. 'They shared how, while many of them got into employment, they didn’t always feel comfortable going to their HR professionals amid fears that it would jeopardise their jobs because they didn’t understand the workplace culture or dynamics.'

Platt saw this as an opportunity. 'In fact, it is HR professionals that can create a safe place for them to ask questions about contracts or about policies and workplaces. Since then, we have expanded it to job seekers as well, because HR have a lot of insight into recruitment and organisational design.'

Learning through challenges

Platt sees a big challenge for refugees living in remote locations. 'One of the biggest challenges in supporting mentees has been many of them are first housed or relocated in rural areas, and they also can be relocated mid-programme.' Mentees will have limited control over whether they can stay in a community.

Digital solutions do not resolve this challenge. '[Moving] may not affect the mentoring relationship but affects…trying to understand the local job market and the resources available,' notes Platt. Progress can be disrupted, forcing individuals to rebuild networks and job searches, even after making strides in their local area.

To counteract this, the CIPD Trust aims to ensure a solid, long-lasting mentor relationship. 'It’s someone that stays with them through that difficult part of their current situation, and it can provide continuity in terms of how they approach employment.'

Mebrate details 'complex and interrelated' barriers. Housing, finance matters and mental health are common challenges faced by many of their clients. They may lack many facilities that might seem basic in overcrowded or shared accommodation. So, 'the overlapping challenges refugees face require multi-agency expertise', asserts Mebrate. 

'Breaking Barriers has built excellent referral relationships with external organisations and community groups that offer specialist support and advice on housing, welfare, legal matters, finance and counselling, which our clients are referred to when needed. 

'Clients taking part in the programme have a named advisor, with whom they meet regularly to discuss their careers and any additional challenges they may be facing.'

But despite their strong partner network, limited government funding and the issues they tackle mean clients may not always be able to access the right support quickly, Mebrate acknowledges. 'Despite all the difficulties stated, our clients are the most motivated and resilient people, who are eager to succeed and contribute.'

As REN mentees are recruited through refugee support organisations, within its network of 400 members, there is social, emotional and practical support. Walton says, 'This allows mentors to focus on career guidance and professional integration. REN also ensures all mentors receive trauma-informed mentor training, equipping them to navigate the complex barriers faced by people who have experienced forced displacement.'

The REN mentoring programme was designed to be fully online and accessible, regardless of location and removing travel costs. ‘Digital exclusion’ is tackled by partnering with Screen Share (the UK’s digital inclusion charity for refugees) to provide laptops and data for mentees. 

Walton adds, 'Monthly drop-in sessions for mentors and mentees provide a space to celebrate successes, share interview tips and learn from peers’ experiences, creating a supportive community and enhancing confidence and engagement.' 

She says, 'The most significant challenge at a macro level has been scaling the mentoring programme to meet the high demand from both mentors and mentees. The engineering industry is genuinely willing to welcome and support refugee colleagues…proving that industry-wide inclusion of refugee engineers is not just possible, but achievable. This level of demand underlines both the urgency and the opportunity to build industry-wide pathways for refugee engineers.

'The demand from mentees was equally striking. Highly skilled and experienced engineers contact us weekly, looking for opportunities to return to a sector they love, often after months or years of struggling to have their qualifications and experience recognised. Perhaps the most powerful lesson was seeing the impact of human connection.' 

Yet REN identifies systemic challenges. One of their mentees is quoted as saying: 'The biggest barrier for skilled professionals is the lack of recognition for overseas qualifications and experience. Despite arriving with extensive skills, many of us find that our qualifications aren’t acknowledged, which limits access to suitable roles, forcing us to start over, or take lower-skilled jobs outside of our field in most cases.'

Walton says, 'This points to a wider issue. For refugee engineers to gain professional recognition and re-enter their field, employers and PEIs must recognise and value professional work experience from overseas. Joining a PEI provides a clear pathway back into the profession, enabling refugee engineers to build professional networks, receive industry guidance and access career opportunities. Removing these barriers accelerates their ability to re-enter and contribute to the industry.'

She stresses, 'Working closely with the Engineering Council, Institution of Civil Engineers and our steering group, which includes leaders from multiple PEIs, was key to designing a programme that not only supports individual mentees, but also addresses broader structural barriers in the profession.'

These collaborations align mentoring with professional standards in mind, matching mentees appropriately and exploring pathways for refugees to re-enter the profession. 

The ability to coordinate across organisations 'was critical in putting together and maintaining a programme that has the potential to be scaled and adopted across the industry', notes Walton.

Mebrate reflects, 'We are still learning from [our] programme.The biggest takeaway is that our clients are seeking real, sustainable jobs and training opportunities. We have, therefore, created a new, practical session called ’Apply Now’ to the programme. This session focuses on sector-specific volunteers who work for Breaking Barriers’ partners, meeting clients on a 1-2-1 basis to help them complete job applications.

'They are all struggling to secure employment in their chosen field, including roles that are below the level they previously worked at. For us, this last point emphasises the importance of programmes that are supported by, and delivered in partnership with, employers to create opportunities and equitable hiring practices for refugees.' 

Platt echoed the power of human connection. '[Our] mentors have gone to great lengths to learn about industries they would never have had insight into, particularly people that never worked in engineering or construction or green skills industries.

'I think mentors have learned a lot about how difficult the job-searching process can be when you’re learning it in a new culture and community.'

Platt emphasises, 'Recognising the expertise of charity partners is key. Every mentee that’s referred onto the programme is supported by a caseworker from the charity that they were referred from.'

Caseworkers provide holistic support covering areas beyond deployment, housing, mental health and community integration. 

Walton reflects, '[Our] programme reminded us that engineering is more than a career, it is a passion. Helping refugee engineers re-enter the profession is not just about employment, it is about rebuilding a life with dignity, pride and purpose.'

Skilled approach

All the programmes involve specific training for the mentors.With REN, Walton says the mentors 'benefited from training that highlighted the multiple and complex barriers refugees face when re-entering the engineering profession. This included practical guidance on easily implementable solutions that employers, PEIs and society as a whole can adopt to lower or remove these barriers.'

For Walton, 'The most important skills [being developed] were partnership-building, collaboration and strategic thinking at an industry-wide level.' These themes were echoed by Shell and the CIPD Trust, who mention 'understanding' of skills needs and 'relationship building', respectively.

Platt shares, 'I think empathy is really key in this work and wanting to be curious…Those are key skills, the ability to listen deeply…and trying to come to a happy medium that helps 
serve the purpose of moving inclusive employment forward.'

Mebrate states, 'To integrate energy transition into our national employment services, we prioritised upskilling the Breaking Barriers’ employability team.'

Platt continues, 'We focus on equipping our mentors and myself as a programme lead with practical tools and guidance, and that’s from charities like RefuAid and Breaking Barriers.' 

Platt also talks about 'reciprocal learning', not just imparting knowledge, but allowing the HR professional to learn from their mentees about displaced clients’ experiences. Learning to be more inclusive through engagement with refugees and making positive change.

Each programme has attracted huge demand and interest, suggesting there is a need to expand the breadth. 

Walton concludes, 'Refugee employment is not a philanthropic mission – it’s a win-win-win for engineers, employers, the industry and society.

'Work gives refugees financial security, dignity and hope, while enabling the engineering sector to benefit from highly skilled professionals who might otherwise be underemployed.

By removing systemic barriers, we aim to support both individual refugees and industry-level change, tackling skills shortages, preventing de-skilling, and promoting inclusion 
and integration.'

For more information, visit breaking-barriers.co.uk, refugeeemploymentnetwork.org and bit.ly/rebuildingfuture. 

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