ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Sodexo UK & Ireland is one of 70 major businesses to join Tent UK, a new coalition of companies connecting refugees to jobs.

Through its Social Impact Pledge Sodexo has committed to do all it can to actively promote social mobility across its business and support disadvantaged groups in finding employment opportunities.

In recent years the UK has welcomed more than 500,000 refugees from countries such as Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Syria and most recently Ukraine - yet many have been unable to find formal employment.

While they have the legal right to work, refugees are over 20 per cent less likely to be employed than the UK population, with this gap widening to 30 per cent for refugee women, according to the UK government.

At the same time, the UK is experiencing labour shortages, with almost one million job vacancies, across key industries such as hospitality, food service and others including manufacturing & healthcare.

Jen Stobart, UK director at Tent said: "Refugees face numerous barriers to formal employment, such as lower language proficiency, transportation issues, lack of childcare options, as well as a lack of social and professional networks.

"These hurdles require particular attention from businesses, who - by making small upfront investments and tailoring their hiring practices - can level the playing field and give a fair chance to the many refugees still looking for a job in the UK."

Joining the Tent UK coalition builds on the successful global relationship Sodexo has had with Tent since 2019, focused on improving the lives of refugees buy helping them to enter the workforce through, hiring, training and mentoring programmes.

www.tent.org