We are pleased to announce that Dundee City Council has just launched three new learning resources developed by Scottish Refugee Council for the Dundee workforce. These resources were launched on the 14th June 2021 during Refugee Festival Scotland and are now available to all staff from Dundee City Council and their third sector partners. These resources are there to support the workforce to increase their knowledge and skills in working with refugees. It covers key issues around human trafficking, refugee protection routes and process, best practice in supporting refugee integration and key skills such working with interpreters.
Jackie Kerr, Humanitarian Protection Coordinator, Dundee City Council who supported the resources development process, said: “We wanted to raise awareness and improve understanding of the difference in immigration status for people who are refugees, asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking. Immigration rules are complex and poorly worded advice can have a devastating effect on a person’s situation. It was important for us to work with our third sector partner, Scottish Refugee Council who have a background in working with refugees and asylum seekers to ensure the resources and factsheets were accurate and relevant. We wanted to ensure the workforce in Dundee has access to information and resources so that they can provide good quality services to people accessing services.”
Sabir Zazai, CEO of Scottish Refugee Council, said: “We are delighted to be able to support the fantastic work that local authorities are doing in making Scotland a more welcoming place for refugees. This excellent collaboration between Scottish Refugee Council and Dundee City Council has helped develop a framework for professional development and tailored e-learning courses. We have been inspired by the enthusiasm and commitment of Dundee City Council for ensuring that service providers are better able to support refugees.”
There are three self-directed learning resources and several information sheets developed to support the learning resources.
The Human Trafficking learning resource is based on the Human Trafficking Guidance by Protecting People in Dundee. The resource is developed to help practitioners understand and implement the Human Trafficking Guidance and support individuals who have been victims of human trafficking.
The Asylum and Refugee Protection resource provides a brief introduction to asylum and refugee protection in the UK. Practitioners completing the course will gain knowledge about the different protection routes into the UK, the processes people go through, different forms of immigration status relating to asylum and refugee protection and different rights and entitlements of people in the asylum system and those recognised as refugees.
The Supporting Refugee Family Integration resource is a skill based practical course that introduces the underpinning principles of a refugee-led integration framework and a five-step, rights-based approach to integration. Practitioners completing the course will identify good practice frameworks supporting refugee integration and recognise the roles of multi-agencies in supporting refugee integration.
