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Last week, NorthStar engaged with Josie Krieger to learn more about the history of refugee resettlement and pathways for refugee employment in 2024.    Meeting the requirements to gain a refugee classification can be difficult due to its narrow definition. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees states that a refugee is “someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or memberships in a particular social group.” A refugee classification is defined differently than an internally displaced person, an asylum seeker (Asylee), a state-less person, or a migrant. The refugee definition does not include someone forced to flee due to climate change or extreme weather. How an individual is classified, when they flee their home country, determines the services and resources they can access.   When a refugee is resettled in a new country, like the United States, the work skills and education they gained in their home country is not often considered. When working at a refugee resettlement non-profit, Josie supported a man who came to the United States carrying his PhD certification and a photo of his daughter. He was told he could start work at 7-11 the next day, despite obviously having well defined, expert level, skills in other areas.   Organizations like https://www.tent.org/ are trying to flip the narrative. Refugees are assets to organizations and who should be recognized for their unique skill sets. We need to rethink solutions to problems like a company’s skilled employee shortage or refugee reliability on humanitarian aid (aid that can easily get cut). At NorthStar, we previously filed shareholder proposals encouraging companies to adopt a Fair Chance Employment program that intentionally hires formerly incarcerated people and pays them a living wage. We need similar efforts, through shareholder proposals or engagements with companies, calling for the intentional hiring of refugees and skills matching.   Some private citizens are even personally sponsoring refugees and families through https://lnkd.in/eUgaEBkJ.   What are your thoughts on how companies can do more to support refugee resettlement and employment in the United States?   For a deeper understanding of the refugee experience, check out this video Josie shared on what it means to be a refugee: https://lnkd.in/dwte_HAs #RefugeeResettlement #RefugeeEmployment #ShareholderActivism #FairChanceHiring #CorporateResponsibility #DiversityAndInclusion #WorkplaceEquity #HumanRights #SocialImpact  

“If companies open their doors to refugees, they will find out that refugees can be an asset to their business and communities. Therefore, I hope that more companies will introduce integration programs” – Teshome, former refugee and now full-time sales co-worker at IKEA Switzerland (Lyssach). At IKEA Switzerland, we have integrated more than 250 refugees since 2016. Two of them are Teshome and Ftwi, who both completed the refugee integration program and are now working full-time at IKEA Switzerland. They joined us and our IKEA colleagues last week at the Global Refugee Forum and shared their experience. The Global Refugee Forum is a forum initiated by the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, where representatives of states, companies and NGOs come together and discuss how to tackle challenges connected to forcibly displaced people. With over 114 million people and families forced to leave their homes, there is much more that needs to be done. Striving for a world where everyone is treated with dignity and given the opportunity to engage in meaningful work, Ingka - the largest IKEA retailer - renewed the global commitment towards refugees, and wants to integrate 3000 forcibly displaced people in the next 4 years. Learn more about our goal and the impact we aim to make in the lives of those seeking refuge: https://lnkd.in/dzT87XRQ #GlobalRefugeeForum #InclusionMatters #IKEA #IKEASwitzerland  

World Refugee Day on 20 June is a UN-designated day that celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee, and raises awareness about the global refugee crisis. In 2022, there were 35.3 Million Refugees, in addition to 5.4 Million Asylum seekers which has only gone up. By the end of June 2023, 110 million people were displaced worldwide per to the European Commission. UNHCR projects that there will be more than 130 million forcibly displaced persons in 2024. Behind all these numbers are stories of people who lost so much. In keeping with the leadership principle, Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility, Amazon launched Welcome Door globally. This program seeks to increase access to employment opportunities at Amazon for displaced individuals. One of the guiding principles behind the program is to build equity and not stigma. We do that by developing solutions that could benefit non-refugee employees as well. I am very proud to work at a company that cares and acts upon these important social causes. Offering refugees great work opportunities is a cause I'm passionate about and I feel lucky to be part of this project and open doors for refugees at Amazon. Watch the Amazon News Video on Amazon EU’s commitment to hiring refugees: https://lnkd.in/gmaP5nRH

June 20th is World Refugee Day, and as such, an important day to celebrate reseilience and diversity through education. Here's one refugee story and an empowering organization behind him. Meet Eiad. 👇 Eiad, a young graduate, fled Syria in 2012 to escape the horrors of war and violence inflicted by the national army, responsible for the deaths of over 200,000 civilians. His dangerous journey across the Mediterranean in a wooden boat ended with him being granted asylum in a new home under the protection of the Geneva Convention. Despite being a qualified dentist and residing in a country facing a talent shortage like the UK, it took Eiad nearly six years to pursue his profession. Eiad's story put the challenge in perspective for me, placing a reflection on the resilience and determination of individuals like him who overcome immense obstacles with grace and courage. What is World Refugee Day? 🔍 Established by the United Nations, World Refugee Day seeks to educate the public on refugee issues, mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and celebrate the contributions of refugees. This day serves as a reminder that everyone has the right to seek safety – whoever they are, wherever they come from, and whenever they are forced to flee. Spotlight on Chatterbox: 🌐 One remarkable initiative making a difference is Chatterbox, an innovative online language learning platform. What sets Chatterbox apart is its unique model of employing refugees as language tutors. Not only does this provide refugees with meaningful employment opportunities, it also allows them to use their language skills and cultural knowledge to educate others. What Can You Do: 🔗 HR professionals and leaders can committ to supporting refugees in the workplace by taking a pledge and connecting with a community dedicated to creating inclusive work environments for refugees. I've greatly appreciated learning about Chatterbox from Mursal Hedayat MBE and look forward to supporting the iniative. https://lnkd.in/eEbNNHkZ #ElevateRefugees #RefugeeWeek #WorldRefugeeDay #EducationForAll

#HumaniteriansAtwork Nothing is impossible in this world! An advocate turns into a humanitarian and does camp coordination and Camp monitoring to ensure better support for the Rohingya refugees in the World's Largest Refugee Camps, Bangladesh. My fantasy of a fairy came true. I chose to work for UNHCR because it is where I can best serve myself, having previously served for a local NGO called TAI, a UNHCR implementing partner. 11 months and sixteen days later, I had my dream job. Although my desperate choice made the journey easier, it was still not easy. #Reason to Become a Humanitarian: A simple step made things easy for Refugees and I want to be that Person. A typical day in my life was in 2017 when I saw a big influx in front of my eyes struggling for food! #My role in three Words: Coordination, Monitoring, and Advocacy for the affected population. The challenging thing in my job is to meet the expectations of People. Best day at work: When I heard a refugee Volunteer got motivated by me and started studying and completed his 10th, Class.  #Key skills and qualities essential to being successful in this role: Confidence, Communication, Adaptability, Dedication, Smartness, Good heart, Honesty, and affection. #One Piece of advice to someone: Be Honest and do your Job. I spent time with myself to relax. I do my job with full love and affection, and I keep myself motivated, when facing the demanded Challenges in humanitarian work I always try to get full details of the context and use all my negotiation skills when required.

On 20th November 2023, we held a roundtable discussion on 'Asylum Support and Employment: Overcoming Barriers Faced by Refugees Entering the UK Job Market'. The roundtable, which was held in conjunction with a number of parliamentarians and local, regional, and international refugee organisations, addressed barriers faced by refugees seeking employment in the UK. In particular, the discussion focussed on a new arrival’s immediate transition from being an asylum-seeker to being given refugee status. We have produced a detailed report on key themes that came out of the discussion and the recommendations provided by participating organisations and stakeholders for improvements to improve employability and integration of refugees in the UK. Let us know your thoughts in comments! #policychange #recommendations #charitysector #refugees #asylumseekers #parliament #houseoflords #refugeeempowerment

✅You are an employer, and you want to hire a refugee. ✅You are a refugee and want to work in Bulgaria. 🙌For you, we launched the refugee employment platform employment.refugeelight.bg together with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency Bulgaria. 🎤If you want to know more, check out the interview of her coordinator Maria Netsova for Bulgarian National Radio in the audio file in the first comment below the post. #FAR #FoundationForAccessToRights #internationalProtection #refugeelight #FreeLegalHelp #Support #migrants #refugees #cv #Employment #refugeeemployment

Today, on #WorldRefugeeDay, there are more than 43 million refugees around the world. At the Tent Partnership for Refugees, we know that major businesses – now more than ever — have the opportunity and urgent responsibility to welcome refugees: stepping up to hire, train, and mentor them at their companies, fostering their long-term professional success, and helping them put down roots in their new communities. More on my musings in UNLEASH 👇🏼

“The process for immigrating to the UK can seem like a one-size-fits-all, but what I’ve learned over these past 6 months is that rarely does that size fit anyone perfectly.” In the UK, the Refugee Employability Programme provides tailored and flexible employment support to refugees to help accelerate their progress as they adjust to life in England. As one of our team member shares, that adjustment can be incredibly difficult and the work to support these individuals both challenging and rewarding. Read more: https://lnkd.in/etBSnGQZ #UK | #Refugees | #Employability | #Employment | #Immigration

At Talent Beyond Boundaries, we're delighted to be helping more and more qualified refugees relocate to Canada to fill jobs that haven't been filled domestically. According to Statistics Canada | Statistique Canada, there are over 700,000 job vacancies in Canada right now, and there are forcibly displaced people who have the skills that we need. This story is part of a growing body of case studies demonstrating how displaced workers are helping Canada and other countries to fill labour gaps and revitalize communities. #EMPP #meaningfulemployment