East Midlands Chambers of commerce unite to support refugees into jobs and help businesses plug skills gaps

East Midlands Chamber and Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce are working together to develop refugees’ skills, employability and social integration, with the aim of enhancing confidence among individuals who have fled war, violence or persecution to take on jobs here – and in turn help businesses to fill vacancies.

In response to the crisis in Ukraine, members of East Midlands Chamber’s employment services team have made weekly visits to the Nottinghamshire Ukrainian Cultural Centre to help refugees arriving in the area.

Paul Needham, head of employment services at East Midlands Chamber, which represents Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, said: “Supporting Ukrainian refugees in Nottinghamshire over the past six months has been a really rewarding exercise for our team given the desperate circumstances these people find themselves in, and it has provided an important platform for introducing more families and individuals to our wide portfolio of employment services, which break down barriers to work.”

East Midlands Chamber has already worked with conference and event space operator Nottingham Venues, helping place Ukrainian national Anastasiia Markeliuk as a food and beverage assistant.

She said: “The refugee community often features very skilled people who have a lot to offer and can make a real difference to companies, so I would encourage businesses to be open to the opportunities that employing refugees can provide.”