Cummins partners with Breaking Barriers to support refugees in need

Since 2019, Cummins has proudly partnered with Breaking Barriers, an organisation that works to support refugees in the UK, through integrating them into employment. Often, unemployment can lead to a vicious circle of isolation and loss of self-confidence. Breaking Barriers enables refugees to gain the knowledge, confidence and experience they need to obtain stable and fulfilling employment. Tailored, intensive and flexible employment support is offered to help individuals integrate and create fulfilling lives.

Cummins volunteers from the Paddington, London office have offered career guidance and employment advice for Breaking Barriers’ clients.  Recently, Cummins made a further contribution by providing grant funding to support Breaking Barriers’ First Steps programme. The Cummins grant will help to provide valuable assistance to those refugees who have little or no work experience in the UK. The strength of this programme is that it is individualised, as it is tailored to the needs of each person. Employment advisers will guide clients to employment in their native language, whilst they also receive English-language support through Breaking Barriers’ Education programme. Cummins volunteers will be supporting this programme providing employment workshops and mentorship.

​​The First Steps programme that Cummins is supporting will also serve to support refugees from Afghanistan, who will arrive in the UK on the Afghanistan Resettlement Scheme. In its first year, the Resettlement Scheme will welcome up to 5,000 Afghans to the UK who have been forced to flee the country, with up to a total of 20,000 in the long-term.  It is anticipated that the First Steps progamme will provide intensive one-to-one employment support with native Pashto / Dari speakers, in order to quickly integrate refugees.

In addition to this, Cummins recently joined Breaking Barriers’ Fuse Network; The Fuse network brings together like-minded businesses to share best practices and collectively learn, grow and take action, to achieve more for refugees through employment in the UK.