Refugee Outreach Programme

Yousra and Deborah were both dedicated to assisting with the refugee crisis before they attended the Summit. Yousra used PwC’s ‘One Firm One Day” scheme to provide time and assistance to the Refugee Council, whilst Deborah grew up supporting “Refugees at Home”. At the Summit in the Hague, Yousra connected with a fellow Ambassador who runs a refugee support centre in the Netherlands and seeing her work motivated Yousra to scale up the initiative and leverage the capacity of PwC.

Together they have developed the Refugee Outreach Programme, partnering with the Refugee Council and the CodeYourFuture team to help refugees integrate into the UK labour market successfully. Support ranges from CV writing to skills-based trainings, and basic introductions to the UK market. Employees who volunteer for the programme also receive training to improve the support they are able to provide the refugees. There was also a campaign during International Refugee Week, which included a documentary screening and a panel discussion.
Internally, as part of the refugee awareness sessions, participants receive contextual information on the refugee crisis and experience in the UK and listen to the personal story of someone from a refugee background. In the pandemic, the programme has been continued virtually, and to date, 463 people have attended 12 awareness sessions. Off the back of a session, one director was inspired to employ people of a refugee background, which has already led to the hiring of two full-time employees.

Of these participants, some of the PwC employees have gone on to use this knowledge as volunteers, to support the Refugee Outreach Programme. Each programme lasts between 4 and 5 weeks, whereby there is a skill-session run in partnership with the clients from a refugee background. Following the PwC-led sessions, partner organisations have recap sessions with the participants to ensure that the information has been received correctly, and 163 refugee “clients” have benefitted from this programme helping them to integrate into the labour market.

“One Young World has inspired me to take action to support Refugees at PwC by promoting refugee awareness and to recognise that everyone can help. It’s opened up my eyes to the role that private organisations can have in driving employability and equipping refugees with the skills to reach their maximum potential and to continue to serve our communities”

“One Young World has empowered me to go further in our work with supporting refugees at PwC, and critically analyse the project, to ensure that we are supporting those who need it most. It has given me the inspiration and drive to change the status quo and challenge leaders on their actions”