Supporting highly-skilled refugees into employment

Refugees and other migrants may be highly qualified and experienced professionals, and have skills in areas where there are labour market shortages

  • 23% of refugees aged 18 or over are qualified to degree level or above on arrival in the UK (Bloch, 2002)
  • In a survey of over 1,000 refugees, (Kirk, 2004, p. 15) described 15 per cent as being in “professional occupations” before coming to the UK, and a further 22 per cent as “managers and senior officials”
  • Over 18% [of the sample] have degree level qualifications or higher, nearly 20% have vocational, professional or sub-degree level qualifications (Chapman & Neil, 2004)
  • Of recent arrivals from Ukraine, 75% of adults are qualified to degree level, and 15% had a vocational or job-specific qualification (Office for National Statistics, 2022)

“refugees find it difficult to find employment and those that do are often employed in low-skilled jobs that may not reflect their professional backgrounds.” (All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees 2017, p.31)

For Professional Bodies

If you represent a Professional Body and would like to know more about how your organisation or profession can support refugees with expertise in your area, read on.

For refugees and those supporting them

If you want to get back to working in your profession, or you are trying to help someone who is, then there are resources for you.

For employers

If you need skilled professionals, but are unsure about employing refugees or what they have to offer, some of the information and links here may help.

“Despite the images and much of the press narrative, many refugees and people claiming asylum are highly skilled and educated. With the right help from people and organisations in their professions, we could use this talent for everyone’s benefit.”

refugeeprofessionals.uk