Best Resourcing, Talent, L&D or Initiative

This article is taken from the 2021 Relocate and Think Global People Awards supplement.Click on the cover to access the digital edition or on the links below to read all of the articles on our website.

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The coronavirus pandemic impacted all parts of our lives. For upcoming generations, particularly those in secondary or tertiary education now, the true cost could be counted for years to come. Yet a truly inspirational initiative set up during the pandemic for Generation Covid to gain work experience showed what is possible during a crisis.Last autumn, global immigration law specialists Fragomen launched the Fragomen Immigration School. The five-week virtual programme offered those affected by the absence of work experience, missed university places and lockdown a way of finding out about a legal career. By extension, the programme also raised awareness of the global mobility sector and its vital role in enabling peopleand economies to thrive, helping to prime talent pipelines and promote career opportunities across the industry.

Fragomen Immigration School

Partners Ian Robinson and Louise Haycock were instrumental in the vision, strategic planning and execution of the Fragomen Immigration School. With their leadership, they garnered representation from all parts of the business – including partners, recruitment and Fragomen’s Diversity and Inclusion committee – to plan and deliver the programme, which is open to anyone approaching A levels, at university or planning a return to education.Each week during October/November 2020, over 200 attendees heard different insights across various topics from a diverse group of speakers. This included Fragomen paralegals, lawyers, partners and business service professionals. Fragomen also secured exciting external speakers, including journalist Amelia Gentleman and MPs Tim Farron and Holly Lynch, to give as rounded a view as possible of how a law firm operates.The team designed the programme with inclusion in mind, working hard to share the invitation with schools, universities and networks around the country. With overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees and everyone involved in the initiative, Fragomen is planning a second event later this year.

"Hugely positive initiative"

One of the many remarkable aspects of Fragomen Immigration School is how at a time of crisis, the organisation and its leaders were able to remain so outward-looking, mindful of young people’s needs and future-focused. Another is how it brought colleagues together at a time of enforced remote working to offer a fresh perspective, the chance to give back and further develop their skills.The judges commented, “This is a really innovative and exciting initiative – to develop an immigration school to assist forthcoming legal professionals during the pandemic when other education avenues and work experience opportunities were limited is inspirational.“This hugely positive initiative was borne out of a desire to support and nurture future talent. It is a clear indication that this is a future-focused business and its desire to provide learning and inspiration during the darkest of times, brings their core values to life and benefits future generations of legal professionals.”Collecting the award, Ian Robinson, said, “We are really proud of our immigration school. We wanted to do something to help the students who would have struggled anyway with work experience. It’s lovely to get recognition for it.”Louise Haycock added, “It was also lovely to work with so many parts of our organisation and bring them together and to be able to do that. To win the award means so much and you’ve really inspired us to do it again. If you know any students in your network who would be interested, please send them our way!”www.fragomen.com

The 2021 Relocate and Think Global People Awards Supplement - Out Now

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