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Ukraine war: Concerns over employability barriers for refugees in NI

BBC Svitlana and VladBBC
When Svitlana and Vlad left their flat in Kyiv eight months ago they always assumed they would return

Some employers in Northern Ireland may be wary of giving jobs to Ukrainian refugees, according to the Law Centre.

The organisation gives advice through the Ukrainian Assistance Centres in Northern Ireland.

It says language issues and bureaucracy around refugee status are affecting employability.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show about 40% of Ukrainian refugees in the UK are working, though all have the right to work.

Liz Griffith, from the Law Centre, told BBC News NI there was no blueprint for how any refugee arriving in Northern Ireland could integrate in to society.

"Getting their qualifications recognised is a bureaucratic process, being able to demonstrate their right to work is also a bureaucratic process and employers can be very wary of offering employment to someone who may not have the correct visa," she said.

"But the other challenge is English language and it is probably the biggest barrier to any refugee seeking employment."

Fleeing the war in Ukraine, some refugees struggle to understand and to be understood.

Free English classes are offered to all refugees but demand often outstrips supply and there are waiting lists in some areas.

There is a representative for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at the assistance centres and further education colleges, which run classes, are trying to build capacity.

Community and voluntary groups also try to plug the gap but these initiatives are not currently centrally funded.

'Sickness, dizziness, panic attacks'

Svitlana and Vlad took their passports, packed a small bag each and left their flat in Kyiv eight months ago just before the war started.

They never imagined they would not return.

Reuters Ukrainians in Zaporizhzhia fleeing the warReuters
Liz Griffith says NI needs a refugee integration strategy

"We had talked about the war before, but the first seconds that your realise it's started and all your family, all your friends, your life, your apartment - it all stayed there and it's scary," Svitlana said.

"Sickness, dizziness, panic attacks. It was the scariest thing to ever happen to us."

They came to Northern Ireland because Svitlana was able to get a job here, but Vlad, a software developer, has not been as lucky.

Like so many others he didn't speak any English when he arrived.

He's been taking classes and he and Svitlana try to communicate in English at home.

"It's not easy to find a job abroad, it's not easy to live your life abroad," said Svitlana.

"We're trying, it's difficult, you're frustrated and tired and you have nothing and you need to find all the ways by yourself to solve all the problems.

"It's not only about the job, it about the documents, everything."

Ms Griffith said that if Northern Ireland had a refugee integration strategy it could have a huge impact on the lives of asylum seekers and refugees.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without one.

There is a strategy being worked on but it would require ministerial and executive agreement before publication.

The executive has been not been in place since February after the Democratic Unionist Party resigned the first minister post in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.