Hiring refugees is good for business, say advocates

Refugees are adaptable, resilient, loyal and willing to work hard, says an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail newspaper. It was written by two people, one of whom co-founded the Refugee Career Jumpstart Project to help newcomers get schooling and jobs.

It started when a friend from Syria arrived with good skills and a command of English but became discouraged when he could not find work. Mustafa Alio and Omar Salaymeh decided to help him and then volunteered to help other refugees too.

Connecting newcomers to the job market

They and other volunteers assessed refugees’ language skills and work experience and entered the information into a databank. They then worked to connect them to employers or educational opportunities. Eventually, they were able to get funding from the TD Bank and some private donors to grow the project.

Alio says refugees can and want to be contributors to the economy and their experience makes them especially adaptable. “They have to be adaptable to the fact that in their own country there is a tragedy happening…and they have to go to a new city and after that a new country where (there are) new laws and new regulations.”

Refugees can boost business

“Refugees can bring new perspectives and open avenues to new markets…and provide valuable insight into new cultural and linguistic markets,” says the editorial. And they are good at seizing opportunities.

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While cultural differences and clothing may mean refugees do not present well in interviews, Alio invites companies to look deeper and find the qualities and skills that refugees bring. He says the Business Development Bank of Canada did that and was so impressed that it gave four Syrian newcomers paid internships. The bank now wants to replicate the experience at other branches in different Canadian cities.

Hire or mentor, urges Alio

Alio says refugees have conquered the toughest circumstance to get to Canada. He finds that once they get work they are loyal and dedicated. He urges companies to hire them, and if they can’t do that, to mentor them so they can work toward their dreams of becoming established contributors to Canadian society.