Employers that take on refugees who have been granted permission to stay in the UK are often impressed with the calibre of their work – but frightened to publicise the fact that they employ them, for fear of negative publicity.

Institute for Employment Studies research, carried out on behalf of the Employability Forum, looked at the experience of employers who have been active in recruiting and training refugees in a cross-section of business sectors. The ten employers included a hotel chain, a construction company, a food manufacturer and a bus company, as well as the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

“Employers believe that the public perception towards refugees is so negative that speaking out about it could threaten their custom,” said Angel Human Resources. “The public impression is that refugees are coming in and stealing jobs. This stems from the media, so it is the responsibility of this industry to provide positive press.”

Employers said the benefits of recruiting refugees, include their commitment, strong work ethic and productivity. The Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said that the payback far outweighed the extra costs.

In most cases they employed refugees because of labour shortages and a commitment to promote a diverse workforce, but only a few companies specifically targeted refugees.

Barriers to recruitment
The report identifies a number of barriers to recruiting refugees – particularly the difficulties in checking documentation and low levels of English skills. Although companies were taking action to deal with this, including work placements and induction and English language schemes, they were looking for more government assistance, particularly over documentation. This could include simple guidelines, a helpline and ID cards.

Employers were concerned that current English language courses were not adequate in providing work-specific vocabulary and call for Government investment in work-related training for refugees.

The report suggests that work placement programmes that can lead on to more permanent jobs are a particularly effective way to ease the transition of refugees into the labour market and enable them to gain UK work experience. Companies saw them as an ideal way to cover short-term requirements which would otherwise involve the added costs of agency labour.

Schemes
Schemes under which foreign nationals currently enter the UK include the following:

Last year an estimated 35,000 refugees of various ages were given permission to stay.

To view the full report, Employing Refugees: Some Organisations’ Experiences, click here