The refugee unemployment rate in the UK is almost 20% which is over 4 times the national average. This disparity has increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic as minority groups (including refugees) have been disproportionately affected.

We are Sona Circle; a non-profit organisation that works with refugees in order to facilitate their journey into paid employment. We are working to get the over 150,000 refugees in the UK into employment.

This work is critical and involves constantly fighting against the status quo, to deconstruct the stigmas and negative stereotypes attached to refugees, to achieve. We do this by connecting and partnering with private sector employers who wouldn’t normally hire refugees.

Over the next 12 months, our mission as part of the Sona100 campaign is to create new jobs and paid employment opportunities for refugees in 100 new companies. These could be internships that could lead to a long-term job or general employment programmes.

Do you work for a business looking to hire a diverse workforce? Are you a socially conscious organisation? Do you feel like your place of work could benefit from making a positive impact within your community? If so, please get in touch with us at info@sonacircle.com or visit our website www.sonacircle.com.

Each job created will earn your company one of the one-hundred squares on the Sona100 web page.

A study by McKinsey & Co. found that teams that have greater diversity are 33% more likely to be more profitable, 73% of employers surveyed found that refugees had higher retention rates and 87% of consumers said they would purchase a product because a company advocated for an issue they cared about. So aside from being a socially responsible practise, hiring refugees is quite frankly, good business.

All donations go directly towards creating refugee employment opportunities in the UK.

You can also show your support by purchasing an EqualTee from our online shop. By wearing a #EqualTee, you are standing in solidarity with any group in society that has been unfairly treated or discriminated against.

You taking action now will have a truly long term impact and life-long implications for refugees.

Let’s all come together and do our bit to promoting equality and inclusiveness in this wonderful country of ours!