What we do & how we do it
half of young refugees struggle to find any employment in the UK. We want to change that.
Our mission is to improve the wellbeing of refugees.
We are driven to create a community where refugees can thrive in the UK.
Founded in 2016, we are a grassroots charity supporting young refugees into work. We do this by delivering three employability programmes in London and Brighton that provide jobs, work experience, training and mentoring at our market stalls and through our wholesale service.
428+
refugees and young people seeking asylum supported through our programmes
93%
report a significant increase in wellbeing after taking part in a programme
88%
of Breadwinners participants have progressed into further work, uni or volunteering after graduating
“Refugees and young people seeking asylum have so many talents and skills that must be recognised and nurtured. Their resilience, determination and kindness is inspirational. When given the opportunity, they can achieve so much.”
Why is Breadwinners necessary?
Around 70% of refugees in London are unemployed despite being highly-skilled.
Refugees face many barriers when looking for work in the UK: lack of in-country experience and connections, legal constraints and bias and discrimination against refugees.
As a result of this, 50% of refugees between 18 - 34 struggle to find work, even when they have been looking for 21 months. The estimated unemployment rate for refugees in London is around 70%. Learn more in TENT's report.
Asylum support from the UK government is £40.85 per person a week, almost 50% less than income support entitled to any other UK resident. Until they are granted status - which can take years - people seeking asylum are not allowed to work. This makes it very difficult to gain work experience to help them get a job when they are granted asylum.
Sustainability and funding
At Breadwinners, we are committed to building our long term, sustainable and a diverse income stream. In the last three years, our sales on market stalls have more than doubled year on year.
The current year to date, bread sales account for 55% of total income (including grants and donations).
Our sales from each market stall allow us to cover the cost of paying all refugees who work with us the UK Living Wage. Our generous funders and donors enable us to provide the equipment, training, mentoring and community building work which goes along side this.
Our programmes
Risers
Provides early intervention support for young people seeking asylum aged 16 to 24 through a tailored training programme as Market Stall Assistants.
Breadwinners
Supports refugees with newly received status who are struggling to find work by providing them with their first employment opportunity in the UK.
Proofers
Proofers supports Breadwinners graduates with further online customer service experience and IT skills through running our online shop & wholesale services.