Skilled refugees locked out of UK workforce

Despite the UK’s chronic skills shortage, UK employers are routinely discriminating against skilled refugees, according to a poll of employers commissioned by business diversity and inclusion consultancy, Pearn Kandola.

More than one in five senior managers thought foreign qualifications were worth less than those achieved in the UK, and they believed British citizens should be given preference for job vacancies, according to a first of its kind survey of 500 senior managers with hiring responsibility.

The Refugees Report 2024 also detailed interviews with 20 refugees aged 21-41, who had arrived in the UK from Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sudan, and Yemen, to discover the entrenched barriers preventing them from finding suitable work.

Ros spoke to business psychologist Professor Binna Kandola.

Photo by Glenn Carstens Peter on Unsplash