Powered by firmwide volunteers and in line with our social mobility action plan, we expanded our partnerships with organisations that help refugees into employment.
Setting the scene
Gaining employment in a new country is a huge challenge for refugees, yet it’s critical for their integration and sense of purpose.
As part of our social mobility commitments, we know we can be most effective by collaborating with specialist organisations. By partnering with the Refugee Council, RefuAid, Breaking Barriers, and Code Your Future, we enable our people to help refugees with the skills they need to return to work, while also gaining the wellbeing and development benefits of volunteering.
Typically, this involves helping develop people’s skills in areas such as drafting CVs, networking, and applying and interviewing for roles.
How we helped
As a founding member of RefuAid’s Business Consortium, we’re one of a number of businesses helping up to 50 people access language tuition and professional requalification. Our volunteers act as mentors to individuals as they make the transition into employment. We were delighted to share in the achievement of winning the Consortium Award at the Third Sector Awards this year.
Our regional footprint is a key part of reaching refugees and to delivering our purpose more broadly. This year, we built on our work with the Refugee Council in England, with which we deliver a virtual Employability Skills Programme, by entering into a new partnership with the Welsh Refugee Council (WRC) - a Cardiff-based charity which protects the rights of asylum seekers and refugees across Wales.
It’s at the heart of our strategy that we support local leaders and decision-makers where our values align. Partnering with the WRC to build refugees’ employability skills enables us to contribute to Wales’ ambition, as set out by the Welsh Refugee Coalition, to become the first Nation of Sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers.
“I changed career after speaking at a conference at PwC and realising how my values are aligned with the firm’s values. Here I have the support to do what I believe in, inside and outside work.”
Hamed Amiri
Senior manager, Operate
Making a difference
It was in Wales, at the Millennium Centre, that Hamed Amiri, a senior manager in our Operate team, took his family’s story onto the stage. His play, The Boy with Two Hearts, dramatises their journey from Afghanistan to the UK, and the experience of settling down in Wales. He applied to join our firm after speaking at a PwC conference and hearing about the importance of social mobility and our support for local communities.
Hamed's play also ran at the National Theatre in London. We celebrated his achievement and encouraged discussion of the issues at an event there for our charity partners and volunteers.
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