Employment and Education Opportunities
cv writing, buildings skills and finding work
Are you looking for support with CV writing, building skills, or finding work?
There are several friendly drop-in services available locally.
Book a session locally
The Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support (RASS) team, provided by the Gloucestershire County Council, holds sessions every Thursday, 12–2 pm at the Employment and Skills Hub in Gloucester. They offer information on skills and employment and access to specialist employment advisers, which could lead to volunteering opportunities and employability skills for asylum seekers while waiting for their leave to remain. You can make contact with the RASS team by filling out a referral form and you can find more information here.
Local drop-in sessions
Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS) provides a weekly Job Hub drop-in centre every Tuesday and Thursday on the outskirts of the Gloucester city centre, offering employment support and advice for refugees and asylum seekers. For more information click here.
The Cheltenham Borough Council offers free training and support every Wednesday and Thursday, 10 am–12 pm and 1 pm–3 pm in Cheltenham. Support includes job clubs, online courses, IT skills, budgeting advice and digital help to get online. For more information, click here.
General advice and remote support
The National Careers Service offers free careers information, advice and guidance, including skills assessments and access to training courses and qualifications. For more information, click here.
Refugee Action’s Pathways to Work project provides pre-employment support to asylum seekers online via Teams or Zoom, running for 8 weeks. You will also be matched to a mentor who will support you one-to-one. For more information and to sign up, click here.
As well as entry-level programmes, the Refugee Council offers programmes targeted at refugees with professional backgrounds, or refugees who are qualified health professionals and want to practice in the UK. Further information on these can be found here.
Education, learning, and higher education scholarship opportunities
Adult Education in Gloucestershire provides courses in English language, maths, digital skills, employability, health and wellbeing, and more. Visit the site here to find out more.
Asylum Welcome, who are based in Oxford, provide an education service which primarily helps asylum seekers to begin or continue higher education in the UK, but also with job searches and employability. You can find more information on this here.
The Michael Perham Sanctuary Scholarship at the University of Gloucestershire supports students from a forced migration background who face additional barriers to higher education. Each year, the scholarship provides a fee waiver, bursary and additional pastoral support to one undergraduate and one postgraduate student. Full details, including eligibility and how to apply, are available here.