On 11th September 2019, Scottish Refugee Council and Bridges Programme held a Jobs Fair for Refugees at the National Piping Centre.
It was a great success, with over 160 people from refugee backgrounds attending. Before the jobs fair began, UNHCR spoke to employers about their latest guidelines for British employers in employing refugees – Tapping Potential.
Opening the event, our CEO Sabir Zazai said: “As a former refugee myself, I understand that employment means more than just a job. It’s a stepping stone into the long journey of integration.”
Addressing employers, he continued, “these people will bring skills, life experience, resilience, courage and hope to your workplace. If you look beyond the label refugee, you will see a teacher, a doctor, an engineer.”
One of our clients spoke to us during the fair: “This is the first time in the UK that I have attended something like this. [The UK has] a very different culture to search for a job in, and it can be difficult for refugees. But this has been a very good experience for me, and I hope to attend another job fair in the future and will keep researching so that I find the right job for me.”
This project is part funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, making management of migration flows more efficient across the European Union.
