Hundreds of refugees meet with employers at London jobs fair from Indeed and Tent

Nearly 1,000 refugees attended a job fair on Wednesday (11 October) at the Kia Oval cricket ground, where they connected with some of the ‘UK’s largest employers’ that are looking to fill open roles.

The event, hosted by the global hiring platform Indeed, the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent), the Department for Works and Pension, and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), aimed to make the search for work as simple and seamless as possible for local jobseekers, with a focus on refugees.

Attendees could access CV and career guidance as well as opportunities to network directly with employers and, in some cases, register for interviews with actively hiring companies.

Dozens of employers in industries such as healthcare, hospitality, logistics, and retail participated in the event, including Amazon, The Body Shop, Lidl, Marriott International, the NHS, and Starbucks. In total, more than 500 open positions were made available to refugee job seekers.

According to the UN Agency for Refugees, there are 365,258 refugees, including other people in refugee-like situations in the UK. Research shows that refugees are less likely to be in employment than the UK-born and migrant population with 51 per cent of refugees in employment compared to 73 per cent for UK nationals.

The London job fair is one of several happening across Europe in partnership between Indeed and Tent to help refugees integrate in their new countries through employment. So far, thousands of jobseekers have attended events in Warsaw, Krakow, and Milan with others in Berlin and Amsterdam happening later this month.

Bill Richards, UK Managing Director at the global hiring platform Indeed, commented: “Many refugees are still rebuilding their lives and the reality is that connecting to employment is yet another difficult challenge they face.

“Indeed’s mission is to help all people get jobs and we are committed to helping overcome those barriers by using our technology, insights and networks to make sure everyone has access to opportunity.

“With more than 350,000 refugees living in the UK today, the London job fair is an opportunity for the refugee community to speak with employers who are hiring for a wide range of roles.

Jen Stobart, Director for the UK at Tent, added: “Many refugees face multiple barriers to finding a job, such as language, qualifications recognition, lack of social and professional networks, and childcare, and that is why it is so important for the business community to step up, address and overcome these barriers.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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