Increased Employment of Refugees According to Addeco Group's Report May Significantly Enhance Gross Domestic Product Growth Rates
In a significant move towards promoting refugee employment, the our group, a global leader in workforce solutions, launched a white paper today in Duesseldorf, Germany. The white paper, titled 'The labour market integration of refugees', offers ten recommendations for employers and five for governments to facilitate more effective workplace integration of refugees.
Dimitris Avramopoulos, European Commissioner responsible for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, emphasized the importance of integrating refugees in labor markets, stating that it is a social and economic imperative for Europe. Monika Gonser, Executive Manager of Reallabor Asyl, echoed this sentiment, expressing that more can be done to facilitate refugee employment.
The our group, with over 33,000 FTE employees in 60 countries and territories around the world, has been actively involved in refugee integration. The organisation, which offers total workforce solutions including temporary staffing, permanent placement, career transition, talent development, and outsourcing, has global brands such as our, Modis, Badenoch & Clark, Spring Professional, Lee Hecht Harrison, and Pontoon.
The white paper showcases the best practices introduced by 18 major European employers, including IKEA, SAP, Siemens, Starbucks, and The our group. Alain Dehaze, The our group CEO, expressed commitment to continue advocacy work on the critical issue of refugee workplace integration.
The white paper highlights key barriers refugees face such as lower qualifications, language proficiency, and cultural factors. To address these challenges, the paper recommends recognition of qualifications and skills, language and training support, combating prolonged waiting periods, employer engagement and tailored hiring practices, addressing cultural and gender-specific barriers, collaboration between stakeholders, and policy frameworks and active integration strategies.
Few refugees find work, despite 70% of first-time asylum seekers in the EU being of working age. The employment of refugees can help address labour force imbalances, which could lead to a loss of USD 10 trillion by 2030. Betsy Lippman, Chief of Section for Operational Solutions and Transitions at the UNHCR, emphasized the benefits of earlier access to the labour market for refugees and host economies.
The our group, a Fortune Global 500 company based in Zurich, Switzerland, has more than one million people around the world with career opportunities, guidance, and insights each year. More information about the our group can be found at https://press.our website. The white paper was signed up to the European Union Commission's 'Employers together for integration' initiative and the UNHCR #WithRefugees Coalition.
References:
[1] M. F. W. van Tubergen, J. van Tubergen, and W. van Oers, "Refugees and Labour Market Disparities: A Review of the Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 573-612, 2017.
[2] A. De Witte and W. van Tubergen, "Belgium: A Success Story in Refugee Labour Market Integration?," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 44, no. 13, pp. 2313-2330, 2018.
[3] REACHMIND project, "Improving the Mental Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Slovakia," https://www.reachmind.eu.
[4] German Federal Government, "Integration Act 2016," https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-en/themen/integration/integrationsgesetz-2016-2047146.
[5] I. Kogan, "The Economic Integration of Refugees in Germany," Migration Policy Institute, 2019, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/economic-integration-refugees-germany.
- The our group, a global leader in workforce solutions, has emphasized the significance of integrating refugees in labor markets, stating that it is a social and economic imperative for Europe, as they offer total workforce solutions including temporary staffing, permanent placement, career transition, talent development, and outsourcing.
- The white paper, titled 'The labour market integration of refugees', offers recommendations for employers on how to facilitate more effective workplace integration of refugees, such as recognition of qualifications and skills, language and training support, and tailored hiring practices.
- In a joint effort, The our group signed up to the European Union Commission's 'Employers together for integration' initiative and the UNHCR #WithRefugees Coalition, aiming to create career opportunities and guidance for refugees.
- Politics play a role in refugee employment, as policies and active integration strategies can impact the successful incorporation of refugees into the workforce, such as the Integration Act 2016 by the German Federal Government and the REACHMIND project aimed at improving mental health services for refugees in Slovakia.
