In a bustling office in Southampton, a case manager named Sayed sat across from a young man named Ahmed. Their conversation flowed in Farsi, the language of trust between two people who understood displacement in both theory and practice. Ahmed, a recent refugee from Afghanistan, was visibly anxious, his voice low and cautious. He was facing homelessness, wrestling with depression, and struggling with English. But for the first time in months, he was being heard.

Ahmed was one of 1254 individuals who participated in the Home Office funded Refugee Employability Programme (REP), a two-year initiative across nine-regions, led in Southeast England by Palladium International. Funded by the UK Home Office, REP was far more than a job search service – it was a lifeline designed to restore agency, dignity, and direction to those who’d lost nearly everything.

And for many, it worked.

From Policy to Practice

REP emerged in response to the UK government's 2021 New Plan for Immigration, which called for a more humane and effective integration of refugees. Recognising that traditional employment services often failed to meet the complex needs of newly resettled individuals, the Home Office commissioned Palladium in the Southeast to pilot a bold, human-centred alternative.

Delivered from 37 community locations across the Southeast; from rural Bordon to urban Portsmouth, the programme provided up to 18 months of tailored employment, language, and integration support. Case Managers, many of whom had lived experience of forced migration, were embedded locally, co-located with councils, housing teams, and charities to provide holistic, face-to-face care.

A Model of Holistic Support

What set REP apart was its commitment to person-centred support.

Take Dembe, a single mother who relocated from Dartford to Southampton. Separated from her children still in Uganda and plagued by anxiety, Dembe lacked digital literacy and was struggling to find her place. But through regular meetings with her Case Manager, Sayed, she received tailored digital skills training, access to mental health support, and encouragement to join local community groups. Within months, Dembe secured full-time work in the retail sector, enough to support her family and begin rebuilding her life.

Or Fereshteh, a PhD holder from Iran who arrived in Crawley fluent in calculus but paralysed by the logistics of renting a home or registering her children for school. Her Case Manager, Georgia, became a one-woman orientation committee, securing English classes, sourcing a tablet for studying, and even facilitating volunteer opportunities to help Fereshteh begin her UK teaching career.

Stories like these were found everywhere on REP. The relationships, the care, and the life-changing impact were the norm, not the exception.

Integration Started with Stability

The programme’s employment numbers were notable with 125 accredited qualifications, and thousands engaged in job-readiness coaching. In all, 36% of participants who were on the programme for at least a year started work, 74% of these jobs were full-time and 84% of participants who started work achieved a sustainable job outcome. Still, its greatest triumph may have been in the groundwork it laid beneath those outcomes.

REP used the Integration Star™, a holistic assessment tool developed with refugee organisations, to measure participant progress across housing, health, language, and social connection. The results were staggering with 257 refugees helped with urgent housing needs and 108 people who were homeless or at risk of homelessness secured accommodation. “We were often the missing link,” said Phoebe, a Case Manager in Hastings. “Housing services were overwhelmed. Our role was to connect the dots – to help people feel safe enough to start thinking about employment.”

Technology Met Humanity

Palladium REP in the Southeast didn’t just rely on relationships, it embraced innovation. The programme integrated AI tools like Getmee that powered the Palladium Interview Coach app, which provided real-time feedback on pronunciation and interview skills. For many participants juggling ESOL classes and job hunting, these tools were game-changers.

“The Interview Coach app helped me practice and feel more prepared,” said one Afghan participant. “It made me less scared of interviews.”

The blend of digital tools with human coaching created an environment where refugees could not only learn but thrive on their own terms.

Partnership in Practice

The power of collaboration was on full display during REP’s partnership with Tent UK, Adecco, and one of Adecco’s clients with a manufacturing site in the Southeast. Through a targeted pilot at their factory, 19 refugee candidates found employment. Palladium played the crucial role of preparing candidates, translating unfamiliar application processes, and advocating for more inclusive hiring standards.

It was a model that companies across the UK were beginning to emulate, proof that ethical hiring wasn’t just morally right, it was practically feasible.

REP’s collaborative ethos was evident in countless local initiatives. From co-locating with the community centre in Bordon to coordinating with grassroots organisations in Hastings and Portsmouth, the programme created an agile network of support. These partnerships – many of them hyper-local and built on trust – enabled rapid, person-centred responses to housing, health, and employment challenges, and formed the foundation strength of Palladium’s delivery of REP. It wasn’t just about scale, but about presence, adaptability, and shared commitment.

The Human Cost of REP's End

As REP officially closed on Wednesday, June 11, there was a palpable sense of loss among those involved. “The glue that held so many systems together is disappearing,” one Case Manager admitted. “Without REP, a lot of people will fall through the cracks again.”

Indeed, the programme’s legacy wasn’t just in jobs secured or English levels improved. It was in the new friendships formed over coffee. In the confidence of a participant navigating public transport for the first time. In the photos of homemade bread still sent by WhatsApp every other Friday.

A Blueprint for Belonging

REP worked because it acknowledged a fundamental truth: refugees are not just jobseekers, they are parents, scholars, neighbours, and community-builders navigating enormous change. They don’t need charity. They need connection, coordination, and a chance to contribute.

And for two years, REP gave them exactly that.

“Integration is the start. It’s about feeling like you belong, like you’re part of something. Some of us never had that feeling, even back home.” —Sayed, REP Case Manager

As we reflect on REP’s successes and challenges, our hope is that the insights and practices developed through this programme will inform the creation of an even more effective, inclusive, and resilient model of refugee employment and integration support in the future. The need remains. So does the opportunity to build on what REP began.