Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Firm beats skills shortage with new refugee recruits

by Personnel Today 20 Aug 2002
by Personnel Today 20 Aug 2002

A Shropshire plant hire firm is recruiting refugees in an effort to combat
skills shortages.

Hawk Plant Hire, which provides heavy machinery and operators across the
country, is training refugees as dump-truck drivers to combat high staff
turnover and problems with recruitment.

Dan Evans, operations recruitment executive for Hawk, said four refugees
started work at the company this month following a two-week training programme.
A further eight are due to start soon.

The recruits are from various countries, mainly Iran, but also Russia,
Albania and Somalia.

"They are paid well, which helps to retain them. They are also provided
with transport – a scooter or van," said Evans.

"If we can attract and train refugees, we are more likely to keep
them."

Evans said the company, which employs 200 drivers, had initially faced
problems recruiting refugees because not enough is done to get them employment.

Hawk turned to freelance consultant Simon Coates to find out how to access
refugee recruits.

Coates said there needs to be a more cohesive approach to help refugees into
work. "Employers often have to work quite hard to find refugee
workers," he said.

Both Coates and Evans backed Personnel Today’s Refugees in Employment
campaign calling for a national refugee skills database and for the Government
to make it simpler to recruit refugees.

Coates believes many employers miss out on recruiting good quality refugee
workers because companies are concerned they might have difficulty getting
settled and have immediate money problems.

By Quentin Reade

Progress so far in the campaign

Personnel Today has been campaigning over the past year for the Government
to introduce a co-ordinated strategy to get asylum-seekers and refugees – who
are often highly-skilled – into employment.

Many organisations – from hospitals to blue-chip IT giants – still face
skills shortages, despite the economic downturn. Joint research by Personnel
Today and the Refugee Council showed that 60 per cent of refugees are
unemployed for more than a year.

Former immigration minister Lord Rooker promised that a skills database
would be introduced to keep a record of the skills and qualifications of
asylum-seekers, and enable the Employment Service to match refugees to
appropriate work (News, 8 January).

A Government spokesperson said an integration strategy, which will include
employment measures, will be released later this year. Personnel Today is
continuing to campaign for the benefit of employers and refugees.

The campaign aims:

– Introduce a standard permission-to-work document for refugees

– A commitment to cutting red tape for employers who want to recruit refugees

– Introduce a skills database for refugees and employers

– Produce concrete plans to co-ordinate the employment of refugees

Personnel Today
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Civil Service braces itself for further strike action
next post
Firms at risk from equal pay claims

You may also like

Employees going into office just 1.5 days a...

15 Aug 2022

Barrister wins gender critical belief discrimination claim

27 Jul 2022

‘Patchy’ mental health services failing ethnic minority communities

11 Jul 2022

Global study highlights hypertension treatment failings

8 Jul 2022

NICE sets out new guideline on managing depression

8 Jul 2022

Half of employees struggle to switch off on...

8 Jul 2022

Five steps for organisations across the globe to...

8 Jun 2022

The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls

24 May 2022

Grants scheme set up to support women’s health...

16 May 2022

How music can help to ease anxiety at...

9 May 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+