Aldi and Asos among employers offering Ukrainian refugees a route back to work in Britain
KEY employers including Aldi, Asos and Marks & Spencer are keen to offer Ukrainian refugees a route back to work in Britain.
It’s not simply a charitable gesture, our businesses are experiencing staff shortages following Brexit and the Covid pandemic.
Consequently there are thousands of vacancies.
Some companies, such as Tesco, are going further by helping refugees to organise visas and accommodation.
The United Nations says more than 12 million Ukrainians have been forced from their homes since the Russian invasion.
While 100,000 visas have been issued for refugees to come here, many thousands of successful applicants are yet to arrive.
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Hiring managers want the Government to make it easier for people from the war-torn country to enter the UK.
Recruiter reed.co.uk has found that four in five firms would welcome applications for jobs from Ukrainian workers — and 70 per cent believe they could help ease the nation’s staffing crisis.
The recruiting company’s boss James Reed said: “If Ukrainian refugees are to settle successfully, finding them employment will be crucial.
“The majority of UK employers are enthusiastic about hiring Ukrainians and have identified benefits they can bring to the workforce.”
A third of firms believe that hiring Ukrainians will increase their workforce diversity, while more than 27 per cent said the main benefit to the company was access to skilled and qualified candidates.
- Employers can offer jobs to Ukrainian refugees via the Refugee Employment Network (). Check government guidance at .
Jobspot
GET your teeth into a new role with BAKKAVOR.
The food production giant is serving up more than 280 jobs across the country.
Find out more at .
WAYS TO HELP US SETTLE IN
FROM the language barrier to cultural differences, how can firms help Ukrainian staff settle in?
Here Ukrainian Olya Kosousova, a senior project manager on the News UK tech team, shares her top tips.
VIRGIN MEDIA WAR EFFORT
VIRGIN Media has launched a recruitment support package for refugees from Ukraine.
It includes an accelerated application process for more than 1,000 roles across the UK; specialist advisors to help place refugees into the right roles; free English lessons; and medical assistance as part of the firm’s employee benefits.
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CHARITIES across the UK urgently need staff to support Ukrainian refugees.
See
PROUD TO JOIN A SUPPORTIVE TEAM
BUDGET hotel chain Travelodge already employs dozens of Ukrainian staff and is looking to fill 700 more positions for the summer season.
There are 640 posts across its UK hotels, 40 head office roles in Oxfordshire and 20 Maintenance Engineer positions.
Jobspot
ALDI is opening 8,000 roles to eligible Ukrainian refuges, including jobs in 950 of its stores nationwide.
See .
GROUP AIDS TECHIES TO REBOOT CAREERS
UKRAINE is renowned as a tech hub – meaning many refugees have skills that will be useful to fast-growing businesses.
Industry initiative Fintech Without Frontiers is offering support by connecting refugees with top roles in the sector.
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Firms wishing to offer work must pledge to provide fair pay, undertake an appropriate recruitment process and work sensitively with candidates who may be interviewing in a second language or have endured trauma during the invasion.
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Huw Davies, co-founder of Fintech Without Frontiers and chief commercial officer of Ozone API, explained: “We felt we could do something positive by creating a collective and working together to expose all of the growth opportunities in the industry to the displaced talent when they start to rebuild their lives.”
Sign up at .