Aims

This study aims to map out the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers living in the Learning and Skills Council London North area, to establish the issues they face and to identify priority areas for service improvement.

Methodology

The study took place between January and May 2002. It consisted of 356 interviews with refugees and asylum seekers, 12 focus group discussions, interviews with service providers and some desk-based research. Five main communities were involved in the research [Somali, Turkish, Tamil, Kurdish and Zairean-Congolese] based in four London boroughs [Barnet, Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest].

Key findings

Key findings of the research include:o many of the informants wanted to be taught about 'British culture' and the roles and responsibilities of service providers;o there is a need for more ESOL provision in the four boroughs;o large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers had completed secondary school or undertaken training in the UK;o immigration status and age were affecting the likelihood of accessing education or training;o a significant difficulty facing service providers is identifying the numbers of asylum seekers and refugees in their area;o it is noted that asylum seekers and refugees live in the most deprived areas of the selected boroughs;o refugees and asylum seekers did not mix sufficiently with the British population because there is a lack of appropriate settings for the two groups to meet.

Findings that are specific to certain communities include:o the Somali community was found to be generally highly educated: approximately half had completed secondary education and a fifth of those interviewed had gained a university qualification; English skills were not high within the Turkish community, although Turkish Cypriots showed better English skills. Almost half had worked in the UK, mainly in factories, shops and restaurants. The Kurdish community had very mixed levels of education: 14% had completed univerisy whereas 10% had no education at all. Less than one third of the community had been employed in the UK.

Recommendations

Some of the main recommendations include:o ESOL classes at a range of levels should be available to all refugees and asylum seekers as soon as they arrive in the UK;o the Learning and Skills Council London North should support ESOL courses that are run by or in co-operation with RCOs;o ESOL courses should be more practical and relevant to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers with course materials on British culture and on key service providers;o there is a need for continual co-operation between RCOs and service providers, such that refugees and asylum seekers are made aware of the opportunities available to them.