Opening Doors to Refugees

Inclusive Recruitment:
can your business be a lifeline for refugees?

It is almost impossible not to be shocked and saddened by the events in Ukraine. The humanitarian crisis has put refugees high on the agenda of responsible businesses, and there is widespread recognition that employment is the most important factor in successful refugee integration¹. Businesses must take action to make their jobs more accessible to Ukrainian refugees as well as to the 270,000 refugees² already in the UK from countries around the world including Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen.

About the Opening Doors campaign

Opening Doors is Business in the Community’s (BITC) inclusive recruitment campaign. It has the ambition to make 2 million jobs more inclusive by asking businesses to remove barriers to work for disadvantaged people, including refugees.

The campaign identifies five ‘keys’ that unlock employment opportunities for excluded groups. These five key principles are underpinned by targeted actions. By showing your commitment to opening doors to refugees you will receive access to the 15 principles and actions that will have the greatest impact for this group of jobseekers.
Show your commitment by completing the form below.

Your action is needed

• 35% of employers do not know if it is legal to hire refugees³.
• Refugees are four times more likely to be unemployed than UK nationals and of those in work⁴, 20% have to take jobs that underutilise their skills and experience⁵.
• Job vacancies are at the highest level on record,⁶ employers must tap into new pools of talent to prosper.

Commit to making your jobs accessible to refugees

Complete the form below to express your organisation’s interest in becoming an Opening Doors to Refugees employer. A member of the team will contact you to discuss the next stage.