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Polish integration in UK communities

Not an easy journey but there is light at the end of the tunnel

For many Poles relocating to the UK the process is smooth and problem free, indeed, for most the UK becomes a place to call home and often a place to set up in business. However, with hundreds of thousands of Poles coming to the UK year on year it is not surprising that a significant number face obstacles especially when integrating with the UK communities in which they choose to begin their new life.

With such vast differences between their old and new lives the variations in culture, employment processes, the law and legal processes, business life and of course the language can prove to be problematic. As such and in many cases these differences in daily life can become significant barriers to integration. Indeed, they can prove hard to break and can provide immigrants with a distinct disadvantage in leading a normal day to day life in the UK. At worst, obstacles to integration can have serious negative effects on groups of immigrants which have the potential to escalate into wider problems and ultimately reduce the quality of life for those involved. This then becomes somewhat ironic as often the reason for immigrants relocating to the UK is to seek a better life and a more prosperous future than the ones they would have if they stayed in their homeland.

Significant survey results on this topic are only just starting to come to light. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the UK for example recently found that one in four migrants spend no time with British people. Also, researchers from Oxford and Sussex universities recently spoke to migrants from Poland and their findings provided an interesting insight into the experiences and attitudes of migrant workers as a whole. For example, they showed that the UK government should value migrants as more than simply an economic resource and that ministers must continue to place importance on ensuring their integration into wider British society, even when their stay is expected to be temporary. Importantly, it is now becoming more widely recognised that both new migrants and more settled communities can face challenges when migration patterns change.

When questioned about their experiences in Britain, two-thirds of a recent survey did not know how to register with a doctor and almost half had received no information about conditions attached to their immigration status. What's more, 40% said Britons treated them as equals however a notable 30% said they did not. Only one-third of the sample had taken English classes and many felt they had only limited contact with British people. Indeed, it is almost an accepted part of life in the UK that Polish migrants tend to live and work together and so often they create a sort of bubble, and venture outside of that bubble only when really necessary. It can be argued that consequently this then makes successful integration even more difficult for Poles (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6699363.stm). As such, it is necessary to look into the various ways in which everyone involved can deal with the main obstacles to integration so that migrants can go about their daily personal and business lives in a more harmonious and integrated way. For example, a report by the Commission on Integration and Cohesion will soon put forward proposals on ways to improve integration, such as employers providing English lessons for staff and more information in foreign languages, such as Polish. However, there are examples of successful schemes already in place and they are setting high standards for others to follow.

For example, plans to run Polish language lessons for police officers and staff in Berkshire have proven to be so popular that a second course is already fully booked. Such results are a great illustration of many UK staff being more than willing to take advantage of opportunities to go the extra mile and to give a better service to local people. In turn, such schemes should give Polish residents greater confidence in the UK's public services (http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/bcu/berkshire_east/hp-news7.htm). Various community safety partnerships around the UK have evolved to specifically support their Polish communities also, for example, the Open Door Project in Wrexham which is now specifically directed towards local Poles. It was set up after it became quite clear that it is those from Poland who make up the largest group of European Union member states who can choose to move to the UK and find work. Its priority is to improve access by the Polish community to information concerning personal safety, road traffic legislation, environmental health and other important matters affecting day to day living. Essentially, the scheme provides a "virtual" help centre where individuals can contact both English and Polish speaking staff via mobile phone, email or SMS texts to seek assistance or advice on any of the services available. Such is the success of the scheme that it has expanded to include a "drop in" cafe once a week and whilst this scheme is specifically directed at those from Poland, staff have found it reassuring to have been contacted by members of other EU nations such as Hungary and Lithuania, and even migrants living locally from countries as far away as China (http://theopendoor.project.googlepages.com/home). Recently, in an attempt to achieve greater community cohesion the Reading Chronicle newspaper printed 5,000 copies in Polish, an experiment in catering for the large number of Poles living there. This project was an attempt to embrace the sizeable Polish community in Reading and to build bridges between the indigenous population and the ever growing numbers of immigrants. Importantly, to support integration and not to discourage it the paper was described as a Reading paper for Polish people, not a Polish paper for Polish people. Community cohesion is a huge topic up and down the country and many people may argue that immigrants should be able to speak English at least when living here if not before they arrive. Whilst most immigrants would wholly agree with this argument the UK needs to accept that this isn't going to happen overnight and as such both the UK and its immigrants need organisations like this to begin building bridges between communities. The BBC reported how both Polish residents and UK nationals described the project as a fantastic idea and one which should have been done long ago. Regarding the barrier of language to integration, many people in Reading pointed out that a lot of Poles in the UK can speak English but if they can read news in their own language then it will be comforting to them and may give them an extra boost in confidence when communicating in English therefore assisting with their integration. The idea certainly caught the media's attention with many people saying they wouldn't be surprised if other regional papers and even some of the national papers follow suit (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6045568.stm).

Comments (0) 05.04.2008. 16:33

Polish Immigration and Foreign Direct Investments to Poland add the ‘Oomph’ to British Economy

The number of Poles migrating to the UK seems to be growing algebraically every year. Great Britain’s open door policy is one contributing factor to the 1.5 million and growing portion of the 60 million people in the country recently topping the 60 million mark. But the UK government does not seem to fear the future problem of overpopulation and seems to still be encouraging its open door policy perhaps owing to its advantageous effects on the country’s open market system and economic development.

The Characteristics of a Typical Pole Consumer and Tips on Marketing

Much of Britain’s immigrant population consists of Poles. Moreover, Poles wield a considerable amount of purchasing power and disposable income and are good target markets of any British business. To effectively market your goods and services to Polish communities, whether in Britain or their homeland, a guaranteed strategy that is sure to hit home is to entice the Pole identity. In other words, incorporate into your marketing plans signs, symbols, images, and what not that hint at their culture and history because most Poles, if not all, harbor strong nationalistic attitudes. This has been a strategy adapted and is still currently employed by Britain’s leading supermarkets: J Sainsbury, Tesco and Asda. What they did was to include in their usual aisles, new products that specifically cater to the Polish population especially recipes and ingredients that Poles love: pickled cabbage, sauerkraut, and other native delicacies. In addition, Poles have very well-established and fortified family ties and are also very religious. Appealing to this aspect of the Polish identity by finding ways for them to obtain access to their relatives abroad is a sure way to get the Polish consumer population riveted to your business. According to The Times,

“Polish migrants undertake a strategy of keeping options open, taking a ‘wait and see approach’ and adapting as life goes on, not excluding going back, bringing families to the UK, travelling the world and moving to the US or Australia”.

Good advertising does not stop here and expensive flashy marketing mediums won’t always guarantee optimal Pole consumer responses and return of investments. In fact, background studies regarding Pole communities in the UK state that Poles prefer advertisement via referral. Hence, effectively marketing to a few Poles will inevitably result to a ripple effect.

Though Poles are very loyal to their homeland, most Poles especially the young ones, are attracted to high-quality, expensive, and trendy Western goods. Young poles also have the tendency to be engrossed with products that are advertised humorously.

The Role of Language

It is believed that more than 70% of Polish immigrants in the UK are skilled professionals and graduates. As a result, they are quite knowledgeable and independent. However, most Poles do not wield excellent command of the English language and may still be very much attached with their mother tongue. Subscribing your business to Cooltura, a UK Polish language publication may help you reach out and communicate with the Polish market. In addition, the publication has informative lists on money transfer firms, call cards and travel tickets to their home. The magazine also reveals a list of firms who can act as intermediaries between you and the Polish consumer. Still, there are language translation and interpretation services that span both the real and virtual markets. In fact, because the Polish portion of British population is a very promising market, some banks like those in Scotland have made Polish versions of banking literature and are highly on the lookout for staff members fluent with the Pole’s language to increase their hold on the Polish consumer market.

The ability to communicate with language to the Polish market is key to earning and maintaining the population’s trust, support, and loyalty. Furthermore, professional translation helps them with necessary documentations that consequently speeds up any business transactions.

Polish Immigration and the UK work force

With millions of Poles living and projected to still migrate to Great Britain, the country has access to fill up any industry experiencing problems with labor force scarcity. Labor availability for blue and white collar jobs remains abundant from extreme ends of the industrial meter. Moreover, Polish labor is generally affordable because most immigrants are vigorous and do not mind working for minimum wage. And since 70% of the immigrants are educated and are professionals, they contribute considerably to high-skilled and technical jobs such as those in the IT and engineering industries. Thus, the problem of inflation is kept at bay. Consequently, the British pound is strengthening and maintaining its relation to other European currencies. The Polish work force also did wonders to Great Britain’s dormant and unproductive businesses. With their vigor and number, production became fast-paced leading to expansions in industries.

As compensation, the British government took measures in maintaining and keeping the Polish work force and communities happy. The country’s government actually coordinated with the Polish government abroad to eliminate the immigrants problem of double taxation which happened in earlier years. Another measure taken by the British government is the emphasis and maximization of benefits delivered to the Polish work force.

Comments (0) 05.04.2008. 16:31

Becoming more Pole friendly

Ways in which UK organisations are helping our new arrivals

! Increasing numbers of organisations are taking strategic action to become more Pole friendly and it can be argued that it makes perfect business sense to do so with almost 2 million Poles having relocated to the UK. Indeed, organisations of all sizes are fast recognising the value of our new residents and are understandably keen to cash in on the new arrivals. Whilst many of the moves are business motivated it's important to point out that substantial numbers of organisations are also genuinely just trying to help the new arrivals to lead a happy and settled life here. What is more significant is that there is no one type of organisation making adjustments to become more Pole friendly as examples include banks, recruitment agencies, supermarkets, real estate agents, travel agents and even public organisations such as hospitals, police forces, community protection groups and council offices.

Notably, most organisations are becoming more Pole friendly simply by providing information about their services in Polish; a small step but a strategic one that is seeing huge benefits for both Poles and organisations alike. For example, local councils throughout the UK, such as Slough Council, provide a proportion of their website content in Polish and at minimum, many are now providing contact information of staff who speak both English and Polish (http://www.slough.gov.uk/language/polish.aspx). While many Poles come to the UK skilled in English hundreds of thousands do not and therefore many require a helping hand if they are to confidently use day to day services and ultimately lead a normal life here.

In the private sector, banks in particular have been quick to react to the rapid changes in the UK's demographics. Barclays Bank for example has recruited Polish speaking staff in at least 30 of its branches throughout the UK, naturally targeting cities and towns densely populated with Poles. On the other hand, Lloyds TSB is introducing Polish language brochures and application forms for its current accounts and in response to demand is also launching a bank account aimed at Polish workers with the Lloyd's Silver account so that money can be sent back home, something which is an essential part of life for many Poles living in the UK. Indeed, in a recent BBC article a spokeswoman for Lloyds TSB said its research had found that sending money back home was a top priority for recent Polish immigrants. With over two-fifths of their survey respondents recently transferring money back to Poland and nearly three-quarters planning to do so again in the near future it makes sense for the bank whilst being seen as very Pole friendly at the same time. The figures speak for themselves with Lloyds TSB having opened 100,000 new accounts for recent arrivals from Poland in the past year alone (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6587073.stm).

British supermarkets are also becoming more Pole friendly by stocking up on Polish food to supply the many Poles who have relocated to the UK. High street names such as Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda are introducing Polish ranges which include items such as borsch, meatballs, pickled vegetables and sauerkraut soup. Stores are even expected to develop Polish ready meals to sell along side other foreign cuisine such as Italian and Chinese favourites. Understandably, the many Polish living here like to buy familiar foods and the supermarkets are meeting their needs whilst also cashing in on those immigrants with a significant disposable income. The BBC reports how Tesco's in particular has realised Poles are missing their comfort foods such as soup, pickled cabbage and marshmallows covered in chocolate, and so are importing them to meet demand (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5332024.stm). Such moves are warmly welcomed by both the Poles who crave their comforting homeland flavours and other foreign food enthusiasts throughout the UK looking for some fresh adventure in the kitchen. At the same time, it can be argued that the small gesture of stocking favourites such as chocolate covered marshmallows for example can only make the daunting move from Poland to the UK that little bit sweeter for the new arrivals.

Such moves to become more Pole friendly can cost little money to organisations and require little effort whilst larger more ambitious projects require greater research, expertise and more resources. However, in all cases such costs and efforts are quickly offset by the significant benefits that such new projects bring to Poles, the organisations involved and arguably the UK as a whole.

Comments (0) 05.04.2007. 16:35

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