More than 40 companies pledge to provide jobs and training to more than 250,000 Ukrainian and other refugees at the Tent European Business Summit. Leading companies including Accenture, Adecco, Amazon, Generali, ISS, Marriott International and Microsoft are making commitments to accelerate the economic integration of refugees.

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Paris, June 19, 2023 – On the eve of World Refugee Day and as Europe faces the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, including five million refugees, mostly women, from Ukraine, 41 leading companies have jointly announced an ambitious plan to boost jobs and training available to more than 250,000 Ukrainian women fleeing war and other refugees throughout Europe. This was announced today at the Tent European Business Summit in Paris organized by Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent) and sets a new record as the most significant commitments companies have ever made to accelerate the economic integration of refugees.

 These historic commitments include the following: leading brands including Hilton, Marriott International and Teleperformance pledge to employ more than 13,680 refugees; The world's largest employment agencies, including Adecco, ManpowerGroup and Randstad, will work to help more than 152,000 refugees find jobs; and major companies including Accenture, Generali and Indeed are committed to providing training to more than 86,000 refugees. The summit also announced funding from Google.org, Google's philanthropy arm, to accelerate Tent's work in Poland, as well as new strategic partnerships with LinkedIn and Visa - including funding support - to support Tent's professional mentorship initiatives for refugees in expand Europe.

Win win

 Remarkably, these commitments made by companies and employment agencies to make jobs available will also strengthen the workforce of those organizations, reduce shortages in the labor market, and boost European economies by generating approximately 2 billion in annual income. generate for refugees throughout Europe.

 “With no end in sight to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the European Union having welcomed millions of Ukrainians, it is imperative that refugees are offered longer-term integration and hope through participation in the labor market,” said Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President from the European Commission, who delivered the opening speech at the summit. “More than a year ago, the EU's borders were opened to Ukrainians. However, a year later, far too many refugees remain unemployed, despite our endemic skills shortages, their high levels of education, their desire to earn a living and their legal right to work through the EU Temporary Protection Directive. This unprecedented support from businesses across the continent will be critical in enabling tens of thousands of Ukrainians to care for themselves and their loved ones in Ukraine.”

 “Ukrainian women who have fled war face many obstacles when looking for work, from not speaking the language to struggling with childcare. Companies must do more to reduce these barriers and help these incredibly strong, talented people enter the workforce,” said Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and president of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, and CEO and founder of Chobani. “Once refugees have a job, they are no longer refugees. I am so proud that today companies are taking their responsibility and will help more than 250,000 Ukrainian women and other refugees across Europe to stand on their own two feet and offer them a chance for a dignified life.”

 Brands committing to employing more than 13,680 Ukrainian and other refugees across Europe over the next three years include:

•  Amazon, which is recruiting at least 5,000 refugees
•  Hilton, which recruits at least 1,500 refugees
•  Marriott, which is recruiting at least 1,500 refugees
•  ISS, which recruits at least 1,000 refugees
•  Teleperformance, which recruits at least 500 refugees

 Other brands that have committed to recruitment include Accenture, adidas, Blackstone, bp, Duni Group, ESS Group, FCC Medio Ambiente, Hempel, Hyatt, Ipsos, KFC, Kyndryl, L'Oréal Group, Menzies Aviation, Novartis, PepsiCo, Pfizer, QSRP, Starbucks EMEA, Suez, The Body Shop and The Kraft Heinz Group.

Diversity makes you stronger

 “We know that the diversity of our workforce makes us a stronger company and that's why we actively want to recruit people with different backgrounds, skills and experiences. We recognize that there are barriers for refugees and other people displaced from their homes and are committed to helping them access meaningful work,” said J. Ofori Agboka, Vice President of People eXperience and Technology (PXT) for Global Operations at Amazon and member of Tent's advisory committee. “We are proud of the commitment we made today as it demonstrates Amazon's ongoing commitment to supporting refugees around the world.”

 Temporary employment agencies will also make an extraordinary effort to help refugees find work over the next three years by including them in their temporary staff files and by offering them jobs with their clients throughout Europe. They assume a total of 152,000 refugees and among them are:

•  Adecco (will connect at least 50,000 refugees with their customers)
•  Randstad (will link at least 40,000 refugees to their customers)
•  EWL Group (will connect at least 35,000 refugees with their clients)
•  ManpowerGroup (will connect at least 30,000 refugees with their clients)

 “Adecco has long been committed to supporting refugees in need. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, we have been able to offer temporary employment to more than 10,000 refugees, but we realize that companies like ours need to do even more given the harsh reality that many refugees are not expected to return to work for years to come. home,” said Christophe Catoir, president of Adecco and co-host of the Tent European Business Summit. “It is inspiring to see dozens of companies from across Europe coming together with commitments that are particularly courageous in these crucial times, and Adecco is incredibly proud to be one of the champions of this.”

 In addition, a number of major companies have made commitments to make training available over the next three years, both directly and indirectly through partner organisations, to help refugees learn in-demand technical skills such as IT, coding and cyber security, as well as gain a better understanding of the European labor market.

•  Accenture will make training and support available to approximately 15,000 refugees
•  Indeed will train at least 15,000 refugees
•  Cisco will train at least 10,000 refugees
•  Microsoft will train at least 6,000 refugees
•  Generali will train at least 5,000 refugees

Sustainable future

 “Refugees face so many challenges as they attempt to enter the job market for the first time or find work that matches their skills and background,” said Lucy Murdoch, Managing Director – Corporate Citizenship, Accenture. “Training opportunities, whether they focus on language, industry-specific skills or information on labor market standards, are essential to helping refugees find secure, meaningful employment. Our commitment today builds on Accenture's ongoing commitment to creating an inclusive work environment for refugees and our track record of educating underserved populations around the world to make meaningful improvements to their lives and prepare them for prepare for a sustainable future.” Other companies that have made commitments to training refugees include Accor, Ben & Jerry's, Hempel, Kyndryl, ManpowerGroup, Novartis, Randstad, Salesforce, Starbucks and Unilever.

 In light of these pan-European commitments, Tent aims to connect more companies regionally, and at scale, with refugee talent pools – particularly in Poland, which has the largest population of 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees. To this end, support from Google.org was also announced today, which will deploy Google's resources and technological know-how to bridge the gap between companies and Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

 Complementing their broad mission to connect refugees to jobs, Tent's professional mentorship programs provide support to refugees, at participating companies employees serve as mentors, providing one-on-one career building assistance and helping them restart or continue their careers. To help reach thousands more Ukrainians and other refugee women, new strategic partnerships were announced today at the Summit in which LinkedIn and Visa will not only provide financial support but also accelerate the growth of Tent's Refugee Women Mentorship Program .

 A full list of the commitments announced at the Summit can be found here .

 This article is a translation of the original message from TENT Partnerships for Refugees

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