UHI Moray are part of the University of the Highlands and Islands. We provide further and higher education across a variety of subject areas, short flexible provision including a wide range of apprenticeship and employability programmes.
We deliver programmes with and for the Department of Work and Pensions, Skills Development Scotland and the Local Employability Partnership for Moray in partnership with a number of agencies.
UHI Moray also organised Wellbeing Group Sessions for Refugees, with the purpose of providing opportunities for Refugees to socialise in English while simultaneously learning a new skill. Sessions included the following:
Moray
May 2023 – November 2023
Refugees
Supporting refugees in employability skills
Our proposed approach for the project was to support a minimum of 30 Refugees from May to November 2023 to build skills and confidence, provide employability skills, link Refugees with employers with the overall aim of providing the opportunity to aid in the community integration of Refugees and help them move closer to the employment market.
We link Refugees with employers with the overall aim of providing the opportunity to aid in the community integration of Refugees and help them move closer to the employment market.
Overall, we received 26 referrals, with only 20 Refugees officially involved in the project, mainly due to client unsuitability or client disengagement at referral stage.
Clients were particularly eager and fascinated to discover the comparability of their qualifications against the Scottish/UK equivalent and in turn, helped them to understand where in the UK job market and skills market they could be placed. 32% of project clients used this service with more Refugees enquiring about the translation and conversion service after the project ended.
6% of participants gained work experience.
9% of participants gained volunteering experience.
15% of participants gained educational destinations.
18% of participants gained qualifications.
20% of participants gained employment.
32% of participants gained qualification translation and conversion.
20 clients gained 1:1 support on a weekly basis.
16 participants participated in the group sessions:
Supporting New Scots Welcome Event Mental Health First Aid Printmaking Workshop (Art) Gardening, Yoga and Mindfulness Day Photography Workshop Bushcraft, Foraging and Campfire Cooking Nature Session Supporting New Scots Celebration Event
We initially planned to meet with our Refugee clients once a week for an hour appointment, but what we found was that, realistically, extra time for appointments was needed due to language barriers.
Appointments included a ‘getting to know you’ session to find out about the client’s past career, skills and life experience, followed by identifying next steps and completing and reviewing action plans approved by the coordinator and client.
For the majority of our Refugee clients, we supported them with employability tools (please see table on pg.1 of the activities undertaken during the project) which has given them the confidence to submit their CV and job applications and attend interviews.
One of the key areas we have supported is translating and formatting CVs to English as well as translating and converting qualifications. We also supported clients with job matching and helped identify job search sites.
We hoped that our Refugee clients would reach employment within 2-3 months of working with us (and in some cases, this outcome was achieved), however, the project presented several challenges that prevented some of these outcomes from materialising, mainly due to personal barriers or low levels of English.
To address language barriers, we ensured to support each client to enrol on to and attend an ESOL course suited to their level of English. We also included translation and interpretation services which helped the flow of communication and understanding between parties.
In terms of addressing the ever-changing personal barriers that Refugee clients presented to us (this was usually Housing, Finances, Mental Health, General Health and Family Matters), UHI Moray ensured we attended the local Moray Resettlement Group bi-weekly meetings, and with client permission, involved ourselves in Refugee case conferences that would serve as a purpose to enable our Refugee clients to access the correct avenues of support fulfilled by other community stakeholders from the third, public and private sectors in Moray.
Other challenges encountered during the project was helping clients recognise realistic goals. The majority of our Refugee clients came to us having already obtained high level qualifications and succeeded in forming well-established careers in their home countries prior to resettling in the UK.
Quite rightly, clients held high hopes of continuing this level of career prospect here in Moray, but this could not have been realistically achievable until clients improved their level of English, which could take time.
This meant that some clients, matched with job person specifications, could only apply for lower paid employment in manual labour industry sectors (such as domestic services, hospitality and manufacturing), which focused on a more hands-on approach to job responsibilities, rather than administrative and customer-facing job requirements.
Although this was difficult to address with clients, most understood and therefore decided to opt for other opportunities instead, such as work experience, volunteering and education.
What also helped with this matter, was providing the opportunity for clients to translate and convert their qualifications using official platforms such as Dialexy and ENIC/ECCTIS, with the results giving them more of an understanding of comparability between their level of qualifications from their home countries and the UK.
Despite adopting different marketing methods (ensuring to adapt our approaches where necessary) and displaying a regular community presence at the Refugee Resettlement Drop-In sessions in conjunction with Moray Council, strengthening the reputation of the project to generate referrals was challenging at times.
We found that the majority of referrals were generated internally via our ESOL courses at UHI Moray, from past employability programmes and Word of Mouth. Overall, we received 26 referrals, with only 20 Refugees officially involved in the project, mainly due to client unsuitability or client disengagement at referral stage.
Client disengagement would usually be due to personal barriers and superseding personal priorities and familial commitments. What also could have played a part in this, was the possible duplication of services within Moray through the means of the Moray Pathways partnership.
Despite the challenges we faced in the project, many areas of good practice were achieved. Overall, clients were offered support from a plethora of specialised services across the third, public and private sectors in Moray.
This further encouraged the cohesion of services and endorsed the strength of our already well-established multi-agency approach to working. The unity of services, we believe, secured supplementary support for clients, ensuring clients were supported in a more well-rounded, holistic and individualised way.
In terms of good practice as a singular service, focusing on the Supporting New Scots project at UHI Moray, we endeavoured to meet with clients on a weekly basis which would usually take between 1 and 2.5 hours per appointment.
We ensured to use the most appropriate method of correspondence with clients (clients mostly preferred emails to phone calls) in between appointments to gain regular updates and provide consistency.
At times, we would on average see clients in person two times per week, once at their weekly 1:1 appointments and then again at the Moray Resettlement Drop-In sessions that were held at the local community centre. UHI Moray also organised Wellbeing Group Sessions for Refugees, with the purpose of providing opportunities for Refugees to socialise in English while simultaneously learning a new skill.
Sessions included the following: Supporting New Scots Welcome Event held by UHI Moray. Mental Health First Aid session delivered by Moray Wellbeing Hub. Printmaking workshop delivered by Moray Arts Development Engagement. Gardening, Yoga and Mindfulness Day at The Findhorn Foundation.
Photography workshop delivered by Moray Arts Development Engagement. Bushcraft, Foraging and Campfire Cooking Nature session delivered by Nature 4 Health. Supporting New Scots Celebration Event held by UHI Moray.
One surprising element of the service we provided at UHI Moray during the Supporting New Scots project, was the popularity and need of the translation and conversion of qualifications.
Clients were particularly eager and fascinated to discover the comparability of their qualifications against the Scottish/UK equivalent and in turn, helped them to understand where in the UK job market and skills market they could be placed. 32% of project clients used this service with more Refugees enquiring about the translation and conversion service after the project ended.
Ultimately, the project’s good practice was reinforced by the clients’ sheer motivation and engagement. Positive relationships were formed between UHI Moray and Refugee clients and trust was instilled.
Client determination and resilience combined with provider passion and empathy, allowed for a strong and successful working partnership, which we believe was a true part of what made this project a unique and honoured experience for all parties involved.
This can be seen in the case studies we collected from project participants, which reflects the support received as well as the relationship forged as a result.
In closing, we would like to thank you for giving UHI Moray the opportunity to be involved in a one-of-a-kind project such as this. It has been a privilege to serve Refugees and we hope to get the opportunity to do a similar project in the future.
