Engineers
Refugees with engineering skills have the potential to make a significant contribution to the British economy but many are finding their skills going to waste. This issue needs to be tackled as Britain currently faces shortages of engineering skills. For employers refugee engineers represent a largely untapped recruiting source, the problem being that neither side is effectively connecting with the other.
In 2007 Employability Forum, Olmec, Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit and Refugees into Jobs carried out a review the experience of recent projects and identified measures that need to be taken to ensure that the skills of refugee engineers are more swiftly and effectively integrated into the UK workforce. This was published as 'Finding a way forward for Refugee Engineers'
Engineering is unlike other professions because it is largely unregulated. The majority of engineers in the UK are employed in the private sector. There is no clear route to requalification and the profession covers a wide range of specialisms. The key for agencies seeking to help refugee engineers into engineering jobs is therefore to work closely with engineering employers.
Organisations currently supporting refugee engineers include:
In London Olmec's Solid Foundations programme