Tent Partnership for Refugees

Today, we are incredibly proud to announce that the Tent Partnership for Refugees has been selected to the fourth-annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, which recognizes companies making an extraordinary impact around the world! ????? Thank you TIME for highlighting Tent’s pioneering approach, transformational role in effectively galvanizing the world’s largest employers to connect refugees to jobs at scale – and underscoring that our work is “as valuable for the host countries and companies as it is for the refugees gaining employment.” Momentum has never been greater, and we are grateful to our 400+ member companies for their ongoing partnership with Tent and growing efforts to integrate refugees – a number of whom are fellow 2024 #TIME100Companies honorees, including Amazon, Microsoft, Pfizer, and Rappi! https://lnkd.in/dX7Ea6Tx

Thinking of starting a refugee hiring program, but not sure where to begin? Check out this week’s d&i Leaders (Diversity and Inclusion Leaders) webinar focused on recruiting refugee talent, moderated by #TentUK Director Jen Stobart and featuring member companies Pret A Manger’s Nina Allard and IKEA’s Tanya Hamilton. This discussion was specially designed to inspire even more companies to start or expand their refugee hiring efforts by bringing to life Tent’s comprehensive new hiring guide for UK employers?– developed in collaboration with the Refugee Council. Thanks Nina and Tanya for sharing such actionable best practices, from how your companies have adapted recruitment and onboarding processes to reduce barriers for refugees, to the benefits of a buddy program for new hires, to ways to embed refugee inclusion into a wider DEI strategy. Watch the #DILeaders webinar here:?https://lnkd.in/eA3KQxZH

We’ve won…not one but two The Anthem Awards! ???? Thanks to your support and the distinguished Anthem jury, our short film “To Whom It May Concern” has taken home the prestigious Community Voice Award – as well as a Silver Anthem win in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category. The film, created in collaboration with Shape History and featuring illustrations and voiceover from several Ukrainian female artists, tells the story of Ukrainian refugee women who have fled since the outbreak of the war and showcases their extraordinary strength, skill, and resilience – and the tremendous contributions they make to the companies that hire them. With today marking exactly 1,000 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, and so many of the millions of Ukrainian refugees in and beyond Europe still looking for a job, it’s important as ever for companies to step up and hire them. Will you give them a chance? #anthemawards https://lnkd.in/dzUV8Rcd

Last week, Tent Partnership for Refugees Country Director for Colombia, Natalia Leon, spoke at the Women Working for the World Forum, one of Latin America's leading events on gender and sustainable social development bringing together leaders, experts, and advocates to explore impactful solutions. In a panel moderated by Susana De León Caro and also featuring VIANEYS MARGARITA PORTO OSORIO, CEO of MUVAL - MUJERES VALIOSAS, and Floribet Hernández, a participant in the Transformemos Sin Fronteras program run by Fundación Juanfe and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Natalia shared powerful insights into the unique challenges faced by migrant women when trying to find decent jobs, underscored the critical role the private sector must play in supporting their employment journey, and highlighted the incredible benefits that await the businesses that hire them. Is your company ready to support refugee and migrant inclusion in Colombia? We’re excited to build upon our momentum and welcome even more businesses to join our mission! https://lnkd.in/dTcYFfn6

#DYK: Only 7% of refugees in Germany manage to secure a job within their first year of arriving in the country. ???? Companies have a pivotal role to play in actively lowering the structural barriers to employment refugees face and accelerating their path towards employment – from more practically assessing requisite skill sets to facilitating language learning on the job. One great example of a company actively doing this is #TentDeutschland member DHL;? their novel approach to connecting thousands of refugees to work was featured in the latest edition of German business publication, Capital Magazin. Read more (in German) about DHL’s successful strategies to hire and set refugee employees up for success below. #HireRefugees #WirStellenGeflüchteteEin

“Refugees are adaptable, resilient, and loyal candidates that bring diversity of skills, experience, and thought. Who wouldn’t want that talent in their workforce?” That was the call for businesses to widen their talent pipelines to include refugees from #TentUK Director Jen Stobart at this week’s WiHTL & Diversity in Retail Inclusion Summit in London – which convened over 700 attendees from the hospitality, travel, leisure and retail sectors to discuss and celebrate the business benefits of inclusion. Alongside Premier Inn, AEG and #TentUK member companies IKEA and Hilton, Jen shared the positive impact that businesses hiring refugees in the UK have already experienced – including higher levels of employee engagement and retention, as well as an even stronger company culture. To top off the day, our work to mobilize the UK private sector to connect refugees to jobs was recognized at the inaugural inclusion in Awards celebrating the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion – with Tent UK taking home the award in the ‘Best Business - Not-For-Profit’ collaboration category! ?????? A huge thank you to the over 70 businesses we’re so proud to work with in the UK to connect refugees to work, across the full spectrum of sectors. ? #InclusionSummit24 #WiHTLandDiR #Hospitality #Travel #Leisure #Retail #EDIAwards #InclusionInAwards24 #TentUK

On Tuesday, at the iconic Stade de France?, the?job fair Tent France co-hosted with partners Indeed and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, saw 1,500+ refugee jobseekers connect with 30+ companies – including members IKEA, Marriott International and SUEZ – to learn more about as well as apply and interview for a variety of open roles. ???? Refugee jobseekers also had the opportunity to receive specialized CV support to enhance their resumes to more effectively showcase their skills and experiences. This marks the first in a series of job fairs Tent is organizing across Europe over the next few weeks – with Amsterdam, Berlin, and London next up! Such events go a long way in breaking down barriers and fostering refugee inclusion in the workforce?– a heartfelt merci to our dedicated Tent France member companies and all who participated in making this one a success! #HireRefugees?

I’m still digesting (indigesting?) the U.S. elections, but here’s my initial thoughts. We simply do not know what the next four years will look like for our work in the United States. If the Trump administration follows through on its campaign pledges, we could be looking at: ? the elimination of humanitarian parole programs, which have been the basis for admitting most Afghan refugees in the aftermath of the fall of Kabul; most Ukrainian refugees following Russia’s invasion; and most Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans ? the decimation of the refugee admissions program, which is resettling 100,000 refugees per year – many of whom have been waiting years in refugee camps for the opportunity to restart their lives ? a blanket bar on asylum claims for anyone crossing the U.S. southern border – with the effect that most seeking asylum would stay in Mexico, and those that did cross the U.S. border would enter without any legal protection or opportunity to work legally ? the rescission of Temporary Protected Status (which provides protection and work eligibility for individuals already in the U.S.) for many groups, including Haitians, Venezuelans, and others. These steps would all but shut down avenues for refugees and forcibly displaced to come to the United States. But we do not know whether the Trump administration will go this far, especially if and when it starts to become clear that these measures, in the context of a very tight labor market, lead to increasing labor shortages – fueling inflation, discouraging investment in manufacturing, and slowing economic growth. I think we can expect growing disagreement among key constituencies of the Trump coalition. At Tent Partnership for Refugees, we will continue to be a voice for pragmatism, representing the hundreds of large companies who continue to want to hire and support refugees in the United States. More broadly, we don’t read the election results as a significant shift in public sentiment on refugees. Rather, the evidence from the election confirms what we have long known – that a significant majority of voters favor orderly programs to welcome refugees but recoil when the inflow feels disorderly and chaotic at the border and when it overtaxes local systems. That’s true in the United States, and it seems to be true in almost every liberal democracy. And that means our work at Tent to connect refugees to employment at scale is more important than ever, because ensuring that refugees integrate into the economy quickly and seamlessly is increasingly going to be a precondition to sustain public support to welcome refugees. Our work just got harder, but even more important.

As the plane took off from Kabul, Ruhina just needed to escape the Taliban, who had captured the city nine days earlier. After hiding and enduring a slow bus ride amidst gunfire, Ruhina and her husband left everything behind. They landed in Kuwait and five days later arrived in the U.S. with only their passports and carry-on bags. Adjusting to their new country was difficult, but Ruhina persevered. She was hired by #TentUS member Accenture less than six months after arriving and is now a Client Financial Management Analyst. Next up, Ruhina sees continued opportunities at Accenture and plans to resume her master’s degree. ?????? Read more about Ruhina’s journey: https://lnkd.in/dMU8_3hH Tent Partnership for Refugees

We love seeing the innovative ways Tent Partnership for Refugees' members are integrating refugee talent into their teams! For example, companies like Randstad Sweden have hired refugee recruiters to help them adapt their HR processes to better reach refugee candidates as well as support them more personally throughout the hiring journey. ???? Youssef, a refugee himself from Syria and Talent Manager at Randstad, has been instrumental in guiding refugees through his company’s hiring process – and even provides candidates with translation and interview prep support. If your company is already a Tent member, be sure to check out our new “Hiring a Refugee Recruiter” resource on the Members’ Hub to learn how specialized HR pros like Youssef?can help bridge the gap between employers and refugee candidates. Interested in learning more but not yet in our network? Get in touch at https://lnkd.in/gy5Dw7GA!