UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi (left) and Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of the Tent Partnership for Refugees (far right), signed an agreement at the UN General Assembly for their organizations to work together on getting refugees into employment. © UNHCR/Jasper Nolo
The two organizations will work together to provide evidence, advice and support networks to mobilize businesses
NEW YORK – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has signed a new agreement with the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent) to work together to connect refugees with employment opportunities, including with over 400 companies in Tent’s network across the Americas and Europe.
Refugees and displaced people face significant challenges when they seek work, including a lack of access to employment services, job listings and vocational training programmes. Limited language skills can reduce access to jobs or training opportunities, whilst legal restrictions, such as work permit requirements, can further limit refugees’ ability to pursue formal employment.
This partnership is part of a global effort to level the playing field for refugees. It aims to support skills and employment programmes tailored for refugees and displaced people, while encouraging companies to implement training to prepare refugees for employment in their new environments.
Filippo Grandi, the High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “Working with Tent towards a future where refugees are included and integrated into economies is a winning proposition for businesses, hosting communities and refugees themselves. When an enabling environment is created, refugees have the chance to rebuild their lives. This is what refugees want the most.
“This reinforces our shared commitment to mobilizing the business community for the economic inclusion of refugees. Together, we will continue to break barriers and create opportunities so that people forced to flee can build a better future.”
UNHCR and Tent will also promote the social sustainability and economic advantages of diversifying the workforce to include refugees. UNHCR studies have found refugees and migrants fill important gaps in local labour markets and contribute to economic growth in receiving countries.
Tent was founded by Turkish-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, Hamdi Ulukaya, whose company, Chobani, produces and sells Greek yoghurt in the US, Mexico and Australia. Chobani has hired hundreds of refugees and migrants into its workforce over the years and offers them access to English language classes and translators for multiple languages.
Tent has taken the effective refugee hiring model at Chobani to the over 400 major companies in its network – companies that are committed to addressing the barriers that stand in the way of refugees finding jobs. At the Global Refugee Forum in 2023, Tent pledged to co-lead the multi-stakeholder pledge on economic inclusion and social protection.
UNHCR and Tent have collaborated for the past eight years on hiring guides in countries such as Spain, Mexico and France to help companies recruit refugee talent, and on job fairs, which have connected refugees to employment opportunities. UNHCR and Tent have also proposed policy changes to enable refugee employment at national levels. This new agreement will build on these achievements.
Ulukaya, founder of Tent and founder and CEO of Chobani, said: “I’m thrilled to formalize our long-standing relationship with UNHCR through this official partnership, which recognizes Tent’s unique expertise in mobilizing the world’s largest employers to hire refugees, and will deepen our collective impact in key countries across the Americas and Europe. A job is the most critical milestone for refugees as they rebuild their lives, and we look forward to working even more closely with UNHCR to activate many more companies to connect countless more refugees to jobs.”
To find out more and to join the growing network of businesses who are recruiting refugee talent, please contact Nishan Prasana Krishnapalan at krishnis@unhcr.org.
Notes to editors
About the Tent Partnership for Refugees
With more and more refugees displaced around the world, businesses have a critical role to play in helping them integrate economically in their new communities. Tent was launched in 2016 by Hamdi Ulukaya, the CEO and founder of Chobani – a multi-billion dollar food company in the US – to mobilize the world’s largest employers to fill this gap. Today, Tent is a network of over 400 major companies committed to helping refugees across a dozen countries in the Americas and Europe access local labour markets by helping them become job-ready and connecting them to work.
About UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution.
We lead international action to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
We deliver life-saving assistance, help safeguard fundamental human rights, and develop solutions that ensure people have a safe place called home where they can build a better future. We also work to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality. We work in over 130 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.
For more information please contact:
In Geneva: Mel Paramasivan: paramasi@unhcr.org, +41 79 526 59 48
Originally published by UNHCR on 26 September 2024.
