In May, June and July 2006 we carried out a 20 question survey “help us to help you” aiming to find out more about Polish migrants seeking work and trying to settle in Southampton after 1st of May 2004. S.O.S Polonia is a need-driven drop- in-centre so it was vital to listen carefully to the alarming S.O.S signals from the new Polish community in order to respond accordingly, immediately and wholeheartedly. The results of the survey left us astounded: out of 2500 respondents only 16 people managed to find jobs in the UK that they were qualified for in Poland (4 drivers, 3 teachers, 3 builders, 2 painters-decorators, 1 chemist, 2 linguists and 1 nurse).
This led us to wonder where the remaining 2484 were?! Those eagles who have landed skilful and eager to work, but not confident enough to seek more than “whatever job”.Those who have not plucked up the courage to show employers their diplomas still kept unpacked in their rucksacks. Of course we know that many migrants hold positions quite different to what they were qualified for in their home country. We understand that when climbing the career ladder in a new country, you often have to start at the bottom rung. We accept that there will be obvious delays on the path to success - the language barrier, cultural differences, understanding a new system and the requirement for recognition of foreign diplomas. Being aware of all this we can’t stop searching for these ‘missing persons’.
There are some hidden treasures within the new communities. There are mines of talent and experience waiting to be discovered. There are great latent resources to be explored (as opposed to exploited).
Thanks to invaluable support from Southampton Enterprise Gateway, Business Link and SEEDA, we are now presenting you with the achievement of the most entrepreneurial of the new Poles of Southampton, migrant workers who dared to take their future into their own hands and started their own businesses. Some of them not only managed to escape the traps of ‘modern slavery’ but they have already created jobs for other people. They are proof that newcomers may mean a blessing rather then a burden to local communities and that our search for missing persons brings a remarkable “return on investment’ and it is worth continuing
Networking opportunity: Would you like to spend a day with us and meet Polish people who live and work in Southampton to hear their stories and to learn more about the dynamics of cultural diversity?
