Refugees are forced to relocate from their home countries due to war, violence, conflict or persecution. Arriving in the UK can mean a continuation of hardship, often becoming long-term unemployed or having to take low-skilled work opportunities.  

Refugee professionals also represent a largely untapped pool of talent that can bridge current skills gaps and increase diversity in organisations. Amey has partnered with social enterprise, Renaisi, which accesses and brokers the skills of refugee professionals for employers in the UK through its Transitions service. This creates an opportunity for experienced, diverse talent to fill some of the opportunities in the workforce.  

Together, Amey and Renaisi have created placements for five refugee professionals in Amey Consulting’s advisory and analytics business. Each professional will take up a six-month paid placement at Amey, with support from a Renaisi advisor.  

The placements are a way for candidates to showcase their talent and deliver real business value from day one. In 2021 90% of Transitions candidates were offered permanent positions after their placements. Amey will, wherever possible, offer permanent roles to the successful candidates on completion of their placements. 

All candidates have full permission to work in the UK and are specialists in their fields of engineering, architecture, and business services. Renaisi and Amey Consulting have worked together to co-design a placement programme that aligns with existing recruitment practices and adjusts the process to make it inclusive for refugees. 

Hannah Brooke, Renaisi’s employer engagement manager said: “Working with Amey to set up a refugee placement programme has been an incredibly positive experience. We hope that this partnership will encourage more organisations to realise the value they can gain from setting up a refugee placement scheme.” 

Laura Simarro, people director at Amey Consulting said: “As one of the UK’s leading engineering consultancies, Amey Consulting can play a vital role in supporting refugees to settle and live well in the UK, through offering meaningful, high skilled career opportunities. Refugees bring with them a wealth of diverse experience and perspectives, which is exactly what the UK engineering industry needs if we are to continue to innovate and transform. I look forward to welcoming the first five professionals into our business, and hopefully many more thereafter.”