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Refugee Employment

Our award-winning Specialist Training and Employment Programme (STEP) helps more than 1,000 refugees every year to learn English, find work and establish independent lives in the UK.
Refugee Employment

In 2016 we launched STEP, providing personalised support for refugees in the UK, enabling them to enter sustainable and meaningful employment. The programme is adapted to each individual’s needs and helps refugees gain language skills, qualifications and training. Our employment advisors provide one-to-one assistance in CV writing, interview skills, finding work or setting up a business. 

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STEP graduates have found work in a range of sectors including engineering, retail, education, hair and beauty, pharmacy and construction. STEP has continued to grow, and now runs in 23 locations across the UK, delivering vital employment and integration support for refugees. We have specialist tracks tailored to the needs of Afghans living in hotels, arrivals through Homes for Ukraine, and specifically for women refugees. 

This project is part funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. Making management of migration flows more efficient across the European Union.

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Yanal’s Story

Losing her husband and fleeing war in Syria, Yanal had nothing when she arrived in Coventry with her four children. Learn how participating in our STEP programme gave her the skills she needed to find employment and settle into life in the UK. 

Improving Employment Outcomes

23

STEP locations across the UK

21

STEP advisors

3,000

Refugees supported on STEP

STEP is delivered in partnership with different organisations across the UK. We work closely with employers and together have helped refugees secure jobs at IKEA, Bella Italia, Café Rouge, Chiquitos, Costco, Coventry City Council, Leeds City Council, Lloyds Pharmacy, Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Timpson, TK Maxx, Waitrose and more. 

Are you a refugee looking for employment and language support?

If you’re looking for help finding employment in the UK, have a look at our STEP handbook, with all the resources you’ll need to get you started.
STEP participant

Case Studies

Tetiana, Ukrainian Refugee

Tetiana

Tetiana is from the now devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol. When Russian troops invaded, she fled the country. She had no plan, but knew she had to leave. This is her story.

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STEP Forward Participants

Shukria

Shukria came to the UK in 2021, fleeing the Taliban. Now she plans to go to university and has ambitious dreams for her future.

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Naikmal

Naikmal

When the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021 Naikmal, the CEO of a women’s reproductive health NGO, was forced to flee. Arriving in Bradford with nothing, he enrolled on STEP.

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