Migrant Talent Event Brings Together North West Businesses

• On 29th September, the Growth Company (GC) hosted the ‘Empowering Your Business with Migrant Talent’ event in Manchester along with the North West Regional Strategic Migration Partnership (RSMP).
• The event brought together North West employers to discuss the benefits, intricacies and practicalities of employing refugee and forced migrant communities.
• The networking session and subsequent panel provided insights, referral contacts, and actionable best practices for engaging with migrant and refugee communities in the North West.

The end of September saw the Growth Company host its first ‘Empowering Your Business with Migrant Talent’ event in Manchester, in conjunction with the North West Regional Strategic Migration Partnership.

Over 107 people attended the event, including representatives from many forward-thinking businesses across the North West, who had the chance to network and join important conversations on addressing talent challenges, overcoming skills shortages, and achieving diversity and social value goals.

The event included an emotive session hosted by Marianna Vaszilyiv, Project Coordinator for United for Ukraine, during which migrants and refugees living in the North West shared their experiences of finding work in the UK and the positive impact inclusive businesses can have on employees.

In another session, five panellists, all from businesses successful in this field, delved into best practices, challenges, and opportunities related to recruiting migrant talent.

The discussion was hosted by Adrian Bird, Head of Aspire in Partnership, and was made up of panellists Laura Darnley, Business Immigration and Employment Law Partner at Ward Hadaway; Zeenat Naeem, Director at SureCare UK; Emily Mitchell, Talent Attraction Partner at Whitbread; Andres Mora, Employment Partnership Manager at Breaking Barriers and Alex Mak, Director at Trafford Hongkongers.

The panellists shared their expertise in engaging with migrant and refugee communities, providing vital insight into best practices for businesses, such as having inclusive policies and processes, addressing unconscious bias in the workplace, changing training based on migrants’ needs, partnering with refugee and migrant organisations, and considering all aspects of an individual’s skills and experience, such as overseas qualifications.

Speaking at the event, Michelle Leeson, Managing Director of GC Employment, said: “We know that the employment rate for refugees and migrants is far lower than UK-born individuals, and we also know that individuals are often in roles where they are not filling their whole potential or benefiting from the same opportunities to progress as others.

“We also know that employers are crying out for skilled and experienced individuals. So today we wanted to bring to life how much potential and talent there is out there in the labour market and how we can help businesses to grow and diversify their workforce.”

Browse our website if you are an employer seeking more information on creating an inclusive workforce or an individual wondering how we can support you in your search for work.

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The Growth Company is an award-winning social enterprise with a mission to generate growth, create jobs, and improve lives. We offer employment services across Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire and Humber.

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