Government policies are preventing too many refugees and asylum-seekers from
getting work, according to an Industrial Society report released exclusively to
Personnel Today.
The research, Poor Reception, Refugees and Asylum-Seekers: Welfare or Work?,
claims that refugees and asylum-seekers are being hampered from getting jobs
through a combination of muddled Government migration policy, employer
ignorance and media-backed public prejudice.
The Industrial Society is calling for a package of reforms including a
standard permission-to-work document and a skills database.
The study also calls for migration policy to be continuous from entry,
through settlement to immigration.
Finally, the Government needs to change perceptions by running an education
initiative designed to shift public opinion and educate employers about the
skills and experience of most asylum-seekers and refugees.
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Co-author Gill Sargeant said, "It is a matter of national disgrace that
nearly four out of five asylum-seekers and refugees are being excluded from
British workplaces.
"It’s high time that the Government got its act together on migration
policy and made sure that those allowed to live in this country are also
allowed to work in this country."
