Employability Masterclasses Summer 2026 

As part of the support to help people to find employment, a series of five employability classes took place at on Tuesdays afternoons through the school summer holidays in lieu of ESOL.

Devised and delivered by an HWR volunteer, a retired HR professional, and supported by other volunteer assistants, the sessions were popular, with around 12 refugees attending each week.

Topics covered over the 4 weeks included Skills and Confidence; Interviews and Communication; UK Workplace Culture and Building a Future Plan. 

The aim was to give participants information on the steps to success to get a job in UK. The fifth session was on volunteering, and this workshop was led by the Manager of the local BHF shop.    

Workshop 1: Knowing My Value (Skills & Confidence)  
The purpose of this workshop is to help participants: 
· Understand transferable skills 
· Identify personal strengths 
· Build confidence talking about themselves 
· Understand what skills employers look for 

Workshop 2: Understanding UK Workplace Culture  
The purpose of this workshop is to understand: 
· What employers expect 
· Equality laws 
· Respect in the workplace 
· Professional communication 

Workshop 3: Interviews & Communication 
The purpose of this workshop is to help attendees: 
· Prepare for interviews (common questions, body language) 
· Present themselves in the most professional way 
· Practice interview skills 
· Build confidence for attending job interviews 

Workshop 4: Building my Future Plan  
The purpose of this workshop is to help attendees identify: 
· Different routes into work 
· Entry level jobs 
· Volunteering 
· An Action Plan worksheet 

Feedback following the sessions 
The trainer reports that the sessions were very interactive with many of the participants getting involved in the sessions.   

Following the session she led, the BHF manager reported that she received five applications to volunteer within 24 hours of the session.  Currently two people have taken up the opportunity to volunteer for BHF.  The manager said “I hope more charity shops would encourage this form of volunteering more”.  She sees it as a very positive experience and states that her charity shop has been endorsing "new to UK" volunteering for three years.  She describes her visit to the drop in as “an encouraging visit to like-minded people who believe integration is important to our local community.” 

One of the participants on the course in now working as an assistant in a care home. "I really enjoyed attending the Tuesday Employability sessions. Everyone was very welcoming, friendly and supportive and I found the sessions very helpful. They gave me useful advice and encouragement while I was looking for work, and I learned a lot about how to improve my confidence and approach to finding employment. They also helped me understand how the workplace works here in the UK including workplace rules, expectations and what is expected of employees. I’m very grateful for the support from Herts Welcomes Refugees and everyone involved. The sessions have been a really positive experience for me, and I would definitely recommend them to others. Thank you so much for all your help and support." 

Another participant who has been shortlisted for a role in Customer care and got to the final two but unfortunately on this occasion was not successful said “I enjoyed the employability course. They shared great job portals, useful interview advice, and tips to improve our CVs. Plus, their encouragement to stay positive during the job hunt was super helpful. Highly recommended!”  As a result of his attendance on the course, he developed a document about accreditations required for roles across different sectors (commercial & industrial cleaning, construction, engineering, plumbing and gas safety, customer service & hospitality & social care). ​

What a transformation!  Volunteer Jane tells us: “A family of young single mum and three daughters under 5 years old moved into empty Council temporary accommodation.

Mum was distraught at the prospect of equipping the empty flat and her baby crawling on the bare floor.  With teamwork we have achieved a huge amount to furnish and make the property liveable in less than two weeks from move-in date. 

We mobilised support very quickly, taking advantage of the house removal budget provided by the local Council to deliver preloved beds and travel cot, new duvets, preloved bedding, carpet tiles, microwave and basic kitchen items on day 1.

Carpet offcuts were supplied and laid by a contact of a HWR volunteer on Day 2.

White goods were delivered first weekend of May, with the Community Trust providing a small fridge and HWR applying to the Children's Fund for a washing machine due to be fitted the same weekend. HWR volunteers have since also fitted curtain poles and preloved curtains in the bedrooms. 
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Mum was very grateful for the support and is happy that the flat now starting to look like a home as she begins to settle into her new life here.  

With the aim of encouraging positive engagement with the school and developing good relationships with their refugee and asylum seeker families, a school in Hemel Hempstead organised a hugely successful community event.
 
The school invited all their refugee and asylum seeker families to a community event, where they conveyed their passion in ensuring the families felt valued, supported and are an important part of the school community where their children are valued and cared for.
 
They reached out to Herts Welcomes Refugees for their support knowing that many of the families were already known to the charity. HWR supported the school by sending personalised invitations to 21 families and answering any concerns the families had which they were happy to share due to the relationships which had been developed over time.  What a great evening it was!
 
45 people attended the event representing 15 families who were greeted by the Head of School and enthusiastic staff members.

After a welcome of tea and coffee, there were short presentations from the Head of School and a trainee humanities teacher who had the gem of the idea in the first place.

This was then followed by an opportunity to chat with each other and school staff while enjoying pizza and games which the school had provided.

HWR’s volunteers Alison and Sue who know the families well, also attended the event and ensured parents who are less mobile could be a part of the evening by collecting them and taking them home afterwards.

Not only did it give Sue and Alison the opportunity to ‘catch up’ with events in the lives of so many that the charity had supported, Alison commented, “.. to see so many of the young people thriving was just such a joy.’
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The whole event was an example of organisations coming together with their individual strengths, to promote positive relationships and create an environment where young people can thrive and achieve.
 
 

MS (Egypt) attended our drop-ins regularly for many months before getting a positive decision on his asylum claim in April 2025. He had previously submitted an appeal against a negative decision but the decision was overturned before going to Court. So he has been in the Asylum Process for some time.
MS is a very capable 35 year old man, with a background in Financial Management in Egypt.

Like most refugees we support, MS was desperate to work as soon as he got his positive decision, as his life had been on hold for so long. Although he would like to pursue a career in finance, he has been realistic about his English language level and how this might impact his career prospects in the short term.

MS worked with REED to access the SIA course for people wanting to work in Security. He completed the training for the course successfully but then needed to apply for the 'SIA Badge'. Without this Badge, security jobs are limited to lower level (often unpaid) jobs like marshalling at football matches.

There are two aspects to applying for the SIA Badge:

1. Getting a lawyer to certify your identity and signature. 
2. Submitting a Character Reference.

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MS came to our drop-in on 13th January for urgent help as he needed to complete the application within a 2 week window. He had paid a lawyer to certify his identity and signature but could not complete the Character Reference part of the application. There are special arrangements for Refugees - they have to provide a Character reference from a Social Worker or a Refugee Case Worker. He is a very resourceful man but had been unable to complete the final part in the process.

We did not think that an HWR volunteer would be accepted as a 'Refugee Case Worker' so we contacted a colleague in the MIND Flourish team and explained the situation. She was happy to help, particularly as HWR had known MS over many months. 

The Character Reference was provided on time, and MS is now able to work in all types of Security jobs. 

At the drop-in centre on 10th February, HWR was approached by another young man MJKA from Kuwait who is also looking to complete the Security Industry Authority (SIA) process. He had been looking for help from many different agencies but was struggling to understand how best to proceed.

HWR contacted MS to ask if he would be able to provide some informal advice. He was very happy to help and the two men (both Arabic) speakers were introduced over email. They were in immediate contact and HWR received the following message from MJKA:

'Thank you for that, He helped me a lot many thanks.'

We are now thinking about how we can leverage this type of peer-to-peer support in the future.

M is a 34 year old Iranian man who arrived in the UK in July 2025 and was sent to one of the hotels we support.

He attended English class in his first week. His English was reasonable but he attended every class over the next few months and studied on his own, making huge progress. His English is now good enough to work, but he wants to improve it.

He was granted Leave to Remain in November and given an eviction date in early January. He did everything necessary very quickly, aware that finding accommodation would not be easy in the area.

The input from HWR volunteers at this time included general advice on applying for Universal Credit, opening a bank account etc. We also referred him to a charity offering housing to single men in the area. He was accepted by them and moved into one of their shared houses in mid-December. This charity states that they offer help to find employment or voluntary work, but, rather disappointingly, have not helped him with this.

M is a qualified, experienced plumber and has experience in general maintenance work. He is desperate to work and to begin a ‘normal life’ in the UK. He attends the Job Centre regularly and is frustrated by their approach in that they only ask him what he has applied for and don’t offer any help or guidance.

Many jobs and courses request English and Maths GCSEs which, of course he does not have, although he does have higher qualifications from Iran, which are not recognised.

He has only just become eligible to attend college and has applied for ESOL and plumbing courses, but has been told that he cannot start ESOL until the autumn. He has applied for over 200 jobs but has not been successful.

HWR volunteers have told him about a number of courses and programmes to help him in his job search and he has explored all of these.

• English for Work (online) – The Launchpad Collective – applied and accepted. HWR have provided him with a laptop, as the course can’t be done on a mobile phone
• Preparing to Work – Oaklands College – accepted on Health and Social care module and doing it this month in order to get general information about working and to improve his English.
• Government Connect to Work programme - identified a plumbing course in Stevenage College which does not require GCSEs. He has contacted the college about this.

He is due to sit his Driving Theory Test next week, and is scoring very highly on mock tests. He knows that taking the practical test will be expensive but is aware that getting a driving licence will open up many more job opportunities for him.

This report was shared with M who gave his consent for it to be used and wanted to add these comments:

"From my second day after arrival, Herts Welcomes Refugees (HWR) helped me resolve my SIM card problem by providing me with a Vodafone SIM card. As I had no clothes with me, they provided clothing for me.  They helped me with Asda vouchers so I could buy basic necessities, as I had no money at all apart from that.
By organising regular English classes, they enabled me to communicate with people around me.
I was suffering from sleep problems, and they helped me register with a GP. Volunteer E personally accompanied me to the GP for the first time.
After I received a positive decision from the Home Office, and when I was almost certain that I had no possibility of finding a room, HWR volunteers arranged the process of finding accommodation for me.
When I was about to leave the hotel, they again provided me with shopping vouchers so I could buy essential items for cooking and daily living.
However, more important than all of this, I can say that they gave me a sense of care, kindness, and calm, which helped me to a large extent to cope with the absence of my family.
This is something I will never forget."

We are very grateful for the Dacorum Borough Council funded storage unit that allows us to keep a stock of smaller items such as preloved bedding, towels, blankets, curtains, crockery, cutlery, cooking pots & pans, pushchairs; donated toiletries from a local Church; a small stock of carpet tiles which we offer to families in temporary accommodation with bare floorboards. 

We also keep a small stock of sleeping bags and sleeping mats in the Unit. 

An HWR volunteer goes into the Storage Unit regularly and makes up starter packs for households in the Positive Move On Process.  

Although we have previously put small items of furniture into the Unit, we found the logistics of moving these items in and out of storage too challenging. At times the Unit became dangerously overcrowded with these items. 

So we generally say that we cannot provide items of furniture unless we are offered exceptionally good quality donations where we will hire a van to take items direct from the donor to Refugee households. 

In January 2026 we were offered first pick of a whole household of furniture where (for personal reasons) the donor was keen for items to go to Refugees.  

Our Area Convenor Jane  visited the house to assess the items and decided that the offer was outstanding in terms of quality and quantity of items so HWR hired a man & a van at a cost of more than £400 to take advantage of this. 

On 26th January 2026, all the items were collected and then delivered to 12 households (10 in Dacorum): 4 double beds with mattresses, 2 sofas, 8 dining chairs, 7 chests of drawers, 2 large rugs, 3 armchairs, 7 side tables, a dining table, a sideboard, a wardrobe.  

It is a logistical and communication challenge but immensely satisfying to get messages of thanks afterwards: 

‘I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are the joy of my children. Thank you.’ 

The family who were clearing their relative’s house were so pleased that the contents were going to homes where they were desperately needed. With refugee backgrounds themselves they told us “We know what it is like to be forced to flee our homes with nothing.” 

We were also able to replenish our stocks of preloved kitchen goods and towels in the Unit which will benefit future moves.  

Here are some comments from asylum seekers and refugees who attended our English (ESOL) classes:

"Herts Welcomes Refugees English classes have helped me improve my English and feel more confident speaking, reading, and writing. The classes are friendly and supportive, and they have made daily life and communication much easier."

"Herts Welcomes Refugees English classes have really helped me feel more confident using English in daily life. The lessons are friendly and supportive, and they’ve also given me the chance to meet new people and feel more connected to the community."
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"It helped me a lot. I made many friends, and my daughter plays here and enjoys playing a lot. I also improve my language and become more daring."