Refugees and asylum seekers, go through many different stages of adjustment as they settle into the UK. Some of the needs listed below will be more relevant to newly arrived asylum applicants, and others to people who are further along in the asylum process or with status. Refugees and asylum seekers all have different levels of education and training, so it is impossible to be prescriptive about their needs.
However, this is a list of some of them:
- Information on entitlement to work
- Information on education and training
- Assessment of prior learning
- Guidance on the UK job culture
- Recognition of overseas qualifications
- Training and transfer of skills
- English language support
- Special needs of women
- Help with fees and travel costs
- Childcare
- Standardised evidence of right to work
- National insurance number
- In-work benefits
See the Refugee Assessment Guidance Unit/ASSET website for more information:
Information on entitlement to work
Refugees need to know when they can start applying for jobs and it is very important that they are fully aware of their employment rights.
Information on education and training
Information on what education and training opportunities are available and how to access them should be made available and translated into refugee languages so that refugees and asylum seekers do not miss out on opportunities available to them.
Assessment of prior learning
Evaluation of previous learning, training and experience is a key issue for new arrivals to the UK. Courses designed for this purpose are known as Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL). Some APEL courses are aimed specifically at asylum seekers and refugees. APEL recognises that people learn in many different ways and aims to assess not only what a person has learned in educational institutions, such as school or college, but also from experience of working, leisure activities, other tasks and events in life. Some APEL courses are accredited, which means that the student gathers points towards a higher qualification.
For further information on APEL, contact the Refugee Assessment Guidance Unit (RAGU) at the London Metropolitan University or an advice organisation listed at the end of this section.
Guidance on the UK job-search culture
Whatever qualifications and training a refugee might have, the type of work s/he did previously might not be available in the UK. The challenge for advice agencies is to help refugees and asylum seekers find appropriate routes into work. This can be done by helping them to build on already existing skills and experience they have and by helping to identify where such skills can be applied or adapted. Volunteering or doing work placements can be an excellent way for refugees and asylum seekers to gain experience of the UK jobs market, as can mentoring schemes.
Overseas qualifications
UK NARIC
The UK National Academic Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) gives information on how overseas academic or professional qualifications relate to UK qualifications. The service covers a wide range of countries, and includes advice on the standing of international qualifications with UK professional bodies.
The full UK NARIC database is available on the internet . Asylum seekers and refugees can access the database free through advice agencies that subscribe. They can also write directly to UK NARIC at:
UK NARIC
Qualifications & Skills Division
Oriel House
Oriel Road
Cheltenham GL50 1XP
0870 990 4088
Fax: 0870 990 1560
info@naric.org.uk
People dealing directly with NARIC will have to pay for the service. They should state the purpose of the enquiry and include a photocopy of any relevant certificate together with the transcript and a copy of a certified translation in English (if necessary). The translation can be certified by a professional translation agency or embassy.
Entry requirements for higher education
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) handles all applications to enter full-time first degree courses in the UK. UCAS does not itself decide on admission, but publishes a guide called International qualifications for entry to higher education. The guide can be downloaded from the UCAS website.
The UCAS guide is aimed at staff working in admissions departments or related activities, but may also be useful to schools and careers advice services.
You will need to have a GCSE English (A-C) or equivalent English level 2 qualification. Universities can often request that refugees gain a particular level of International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS). However, IELTS can be expensive for refugees to study for as it is not funded through the Learning and Skills Council, unlike English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). The Refugee Council encourages universities to accept alternatives to IELTS at level 2 or set their own English entrance test. For some professions, IELTS is necessary. For example, to qualify as a doctor in the UK, you will need a score of 7.5
It is worth pointing out that Open University courses may be attractive to asylum seekers and refugees, as they have a different application process and ways of working. All their courses are part-time and the new tuition fees do not apply. For more about Open University vist their website.
Regulated professions and requalification
To enter some professions in the UK, a refugee has to have particular qualifications and must be registered in order to work. This applies, for example, to nursing, law and teaching professions and to the fields of medicine, pharmacy and architecture. A professional body regulates each of these professions and should be able to give advice on what qualifications are needed.
Refugee doctors or engineers, for example, may wish to do similar work in the UK. They might not need to retrain completely, but may have to take examinations or do further training or a conversion course to become familiar with UK working practices.
Entry to some of the regulated professions may require IELTS evidence. The following are links to initiatives supporting refugee professionals.
Engineers
Visit the Refugee Engineers Database, which is now part of Olmec's Solid Foundations programme.
Health
Building Bridges is a London wide initiative for refugee health professionals. Further details can be found here.
Refugee doctors’ database
The refugee doctors’ database is a project organised by the Refugee Council and the British Medical Association (BMA). Refugee doctors on the database get information to help them as they prepare to continue their medical careers in the UK. This includes a regular newsletter, Refugee doctor news, which provides information on forthcoming activities and events. Refugee doctors in the UK, who wish to be included in the database, can obtain more information and an application form from the BMA website.
Refugee dentists’ database
The Refugee dentists’ database is a similar project set up by the Refugee Council and the British Dental Association (BDA). The database is for refugees qualified in dentistry who wish to restart their dental careers here in the UK. For details on how to register go to the BDA website (use the quick navigation guide and select refugee dentists).
Refugees into teaching project
Refugees into teaching (RiT) is a national project providing support and training for suitably qualified refugee teachers to become teachers with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or take on other suitable roles. The Refugee Council is the lead partner working with the Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit (RAGU) and UK NARIC. To find out more and to register, visit the RiT website.
Alternatively, you can email: rit@refugeecouncil.org.uk or call 020 7346 1166 for registration and referral. To discuss project matters, you can rit@refugeecouncil.org.uk
The Refugee Council is also supporting regional development work outside of London for supporting refugee teachers. This includes building local and regional partnerships between local authorities, schools, initial teacher training providers and refugee agencies. For more information, contact Eddie Ralston on 0113 2474361 or email at edward.ralston@refugeecouncil.org.uk
Opening Doors is a London partnership working collaboratively in assisting refugee teachers into the education workforce. It runs a range of services, including familiarisation courses for refugees wanting to work in schools, job brokerage and Further Education teacher training. For more information, visit the Employability Forum.
Training and skills development
Many asylum seekers and refugees benefit from basic skills training, ESOL (see below) and job search courses. Popular vocational courses include information technology, business administration, accountancy, and health and social care. Childminding is also a popular vocational course as childminders can work from home once registered. All national vocational qualification programmes (NVQ) include a work placement outside the college. This can be very beneficial to refugees who lack UK work experience.
English language support
ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses are the most appropriate language tuition courses for refugees and asylum seekers. They are aimed at people who will be settling in the UK. In this sense, they are different from EFL (English as a Foreign Language) courses, which are aimed at people who come to the UK for a short time only and specifically to learn English. Courses are sometimes adapted to the needs of the students, such as with English as an Additional Language (EAL) and English for Women classes, but they should all lead to an approved national qualification in ESOL.
From 2007/08, there is no automatic entitlement to ESOL provision. Funding is restricted to certain groups, including asylum seekers aged 16-18 (asylum seekers who turn 19 while on a course will remain eligible for funding until the end of that course).
- supported asylum seekers who after six months are still waiting for a decision on their claim or appeal
- people who are receiving Section 4 support
- refugee learners in receipt of income-based benefits or unemployed
For further details on ESOL and wider Further Education eligibility, see the guidance for advisers on the Refugee Council's website.
Adult and FE colleges, refugee groups and organisations as well as local education authorities can all provide information on where to enrol for an ESOL course. These courses are very popular and therefore waiting lists to get onto one can be long. In some cases, an asylum seeker or refugee will need basic literacy tuition or absolute beginner classes as they may not be literate in their mother tongue. In the early stages of language learning, teaching may be more effective when conducted in the person’s own community, where the student feels secure. Once the student has progressed beyond the beginner stage, s/he should reap the full benefits from attending mainstream ESOL classes, studying, and speaking English to people from a variety of backgrounds.
Special needs of women
Refugee women may find it harder than men to access education and training for the following reasons:
- In some cultures, it is inappropriate for women to mix with men or to be taught by a male teacher, and thus they may require women-only tuition.
- Responsibility for childcare is more likely to fall to women. The provision of crèche facilities can be very limited on some courses
- Isolation of many refugee women makes it difficult for them to access services available to them. Alternative teaching methods may help
- Women refugees are less likely than men to be literate in their own language. Some will require pre-beginners classes before being accepted onto an ESOL course
The Refugee Women’s Association in London runs a variety of courses specifically for women, which include help with child care and travel costs.
Refugee Women’s Association
Print House
18 Ashwin Street
London E8 3DL
020 7923 2412
Fax: 020 7923 3929
rwa@refugeewomen.org.uk
Help with fees and travel costs
Refugee advice agencies can give information on charities and trusts that will help to pay course fees and travel costs.
See Organisations listed in the Resources section of our archives.
Childcare
Lack of childcare facilities can be an obstacle to any parent wanting to take up employment or educational opportunities, but there are particular issues for refugees and asylum seekers. The high cost of childcare can be prohibitive, as many refugees and asylum seekers live in poverty. Training providers may help those with childminding needs. This is very limited but it is worth asking about availability of any such funds at the relevant training institution. Many refugee parents are also anxious about leaving their children in the care of strangers. This may be because previous experiences have led them to be extra cautious or because the UK is still a new and strange place to them. Some can leave their children with friends or relatives. Members of the refugee community registering as childminders can help to address this issue, while creating opportunities to work for people within the community.
Local Authorities have a legal obligation to secure sufficient childcare to meet the needs of working parents. Parents on low incomes or benefits should qualify for funded childcare provision. All parents with children aged 3-4 also qualify. For more details on help with childcare and other tax credits, visit the Direct.gov website.
In London, the Childcare Affordability Programme (CAP) provides support for subsidised childcare provision for parents to return to or stay in part time or full time employment. Please find further details on the London Development Agency website, or telephone 0800 587 7115 (from a mobile call 0207 490 1554).
Social Services and the National Childminding Association have lists of local childminders.
Freephone helpline 0800 169 4486.
Child Care Link also has national and local childcare information.
National insurance numbers
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) allocates unique national insurance numbers so that they can correctly record what national insurance contributions everybody has made. National insurance numbers are used by employers so they can deduct tax and national insurance contributions. They are also used by Jobcentre Plus to deal with jobseeker’s allowance and by local authorities to deal with housing benefit claims.
From April 2004, all asylum applicants who attend a substantive asylum interview will be asked questions to facilitate the issue of a national insurance number with positive decision letters (refugee status, HP or DL). Refugees without a national insurance number need to apply for one as soon as they start work or claim benefits. They must be at least 16 and a UK resident.
You can start work without a national insurance number. The employer can issue a temporary one. To apply for a national insurance number, call the DWP on 0845 6000643 for an appointment to attend a local Jobcentre identity interview. Applicants need to bring more than one of the following identity documents:
- Valid passport or ID card (if applicable)
- Birth certificate
- Driving licence
- Immigration status document (ISD)
- Application registration card (ARC)
- Home Office positive decision letter
- Letter from employer or contract of employment
- Invoices (utility bills, tenancy agreement, bank statements)
- Letter from college (include course type and course length and weekly hours)
- Payslips
The DWP should specify exactly what is required. If a person meets the identity requirements, s/he should get a national insurance number. If the applicant finds it difficult to travel to the Jobcentre, they should consider offices closer by. Refugees in work who have been issued with a temporary national insurance number also need to attend a proof of identity interview. The following difficulties may occur when applying:
- Extensive delays in allocating an interview
- Intrusive interviews (for example, questions about their asylum claim)
- National insurance number interviews only allocated after proofs of identity are provided
- Jobcentre Plus refusing to accept proof of identity from a person with refugee status, ELR, HP or DL
Not having a national insurance number does not mean that a person is not entitled to work. Temporary national insurance numbers (beginning with ‘TO’) are not proof of permission to work in the UK. They may be issued to some asylum seekers who undertake vocational training.
In-work benefits
In-work benefits, such as working tax credit, are designed to help people escape the benefit trap and move into employment. Phone the Tax Credit Helpline on0845 300 3900 or visit the Direct.gov website.
