A Guide to Apprenticeships for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Reading Time: 3 minutes By Zoe Allen, Sona Circle What are apprenticeships? Apprenticeships are training programmes designed to prepare you for a career in a particular trade or profession. Importantly, they include practical, on-the-job training, and you are paid whilst you complete your apprenticeship. Apprentices also have to spend at least 20% of their time (i.e. usually […]
Transferring International Qualifications to the UK: A Guide for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Reading Time: 5 minutes by Zoe Allen, Sona Circle Why Do I Need to Transfer my Qualifications? As a refugee, if you worked in a career you loved and enjoyed in your home country, you would probably love to continue practising it in the UK. However, you need to know whether your qualifications would be accepted as […]
Refugees in Business and Entrepreneurship
Reading Time: 3 minutes by Katy Cottrell, Sona Circle Historically, refugees have had great success in business and entrepreneurship around the world. From Michael Marks, a Jewish refugee who became the co-founder of Marks and Spencers in 1884, to Jan Koum who fled to the United States from Kiev and later became the co-founder and CEO of […]
Ode to London: The Melting Pot
Reading Time: 2 minutes by Katie McAdam, Sona Circle For millennia, London has welcomed people across the globe to live together in the same city. Central to London’s development was the influence of early Roman, Viking and Norman traders. In more recent times, the city has accommodated many; from the famed Windrush generation to EU migrants. However, […]
How can Refugees and Asylum Seekers Learn English in the UK?
Reading Time: 4 minutes by Zoe Allen, Sona Circle One of the most common questions refugees and people seeking asylum have when they settle in the UK is… ‘How can I improve my English language skills?’ You may have some proficiency in English and want to improve, or you may have no knowledge of English at all. […]
5 Great Initiatives Supporting Refugee Integration in the UK
Reading Time: 3 minutes by Katie McAdam, Sona Circle Settling into a new country can be very daunting for many refugees. Language barriers, new cultures and lack of social connections make integration a difficult process. Integration is vital not only for improving local community relationships but also for reducing the problem of social isolation among refugees. Those […]
Germany’s Progressive Approach to Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Reading Time: 3 minutes by David Cregan, Sona Circle To understand Germany’s current policy on refugees and asylum seekers, you need to revisit the post Second World War period, 1945-1960. This 15 year period transformed a destroyed West Germany into its current economic powerhouse that we know today. There was a significant movement of refugees back to […]
4 Ways to Support the Refugee Crisis in Yemen
Reading Time: 3 minutes by Katy Cottrell, Sona Circle The situation in Yemen has been described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with various threats to the safety, security and well-being of the population hitting Yemen all at once. Firstly, a five-year long war has caused the deaths of over 12,000 civilians and extensive damage to […]
The Perilous Journey Refugees Face
Reading Time: 4 minutes Chiara Fabbro (@chi.fabb), Sona Circle Contributor Imagine for a moment… It is night, pitch black, although by now your eyes have gotten used to the darkness. You’re in the middle of the sea, on a rubber dinghy, and around you a large expanse of water. You’re driving the dinghy. You have no experience […]
Refugees Impact on the Tech Industry
Reading Time: 3 minutes by Katie McAdam, Sona Circle In the 21st century, technology is present in all facets of our lives. The tech industry has become one of the most lucrative sectors in our economy and is home to some of the world’s most successful firms. From Silicon Valley to bedroom studios, refugees have and continue to […]