One of our most powerful corporate Beliefs is our Belief in Winning Outcomes. And one of our most remarkable partnerships is with an organization that has been creating winning outcomes for a very deserving demographic.
Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) offers a unique solution to the global refugee crisis and the labor and skills shortage, helping companies fill critical roles and talent gaps by creating safe, legal pathways for displaced people to relocate for work, resume their careers, and rebuild their lives with dignity.
To fully understand the impact that TBB and the work that they do, it helps to know the sheer magnitude of the global refugee crisis. At present, the UNHCR estimates there are over 27 million refugees, but this number doesn’t include those who are internally displaced or who are still seeking asylum and haven’t been recognized. In short, the population of refugees and displaced humans far outweighs the opportunities for global humanitarian protection.
What Life-Changing Impact Looks Like
Three of the world’s largest immigration countries have established formal refugee labor mobility programs (Australia, Canada and the UK), and TBB is working with governments and exploring refugee labour mobility pathways in Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and the US. More than a thousand people have secured solutions to their displacement as a result of these programs already, and many thousands more will benefit in the years to come.
This work is changing peoples’ lives and changing old narratives. Each of the candidates who has moved through TBB’s programs has already made an impact – for themselves, for their families, and in their work. TBB alumni have treated thousands of patients with care in the UK, brought climate change mitigation expertise from Afghanistan to Australia, contributed much-needed trade skills to Canada’s manufacturing industry, and won awards for technology and civil engineering innovations.
More than 70,000 displaced people have now registered themselves on the organization’s Talent Catalog – the largest, fastest-growing, and most geographically diverse database of refugee skill profiles in the world, developed by TBB as a shared resource for the growing ecosystem of partners working to facilitate international refugee labor mobility.
The level of skill within this Talent Catalog is not to be underestimated; refugees have the skills, but need opportunities. Refugees are doctors, engineers, skilled trade workers, software developers, and more, but lack the right to work locally. TBB facilitates the connections between this skilled talent and those who need them, and this helps to unlock the skilled migration systems that will serve as the first steppingstone to rebuilding their lives.
In a January episode of The Immigration Conversation podcast, David Crawford, a Partner with Fragomen, underscores how providing opportunities to this displaced talent can be a win-win for the refugees and the companies that take them on:
One individual that came into Canada was a Syrian TBB candidate who came to us from Lebanon. He was competing for a role against 34 other candidates, and he was the guy who won. Not only did he win, but after coming to a new country as a refugee, he was named one of the 10 most important employees in the business for 2022.David Crawford
Stay Tuned for the Next Chapter!
As part of our partnership with TBB, we are excited to support the relocation of our first TBB candidate, who will next month be starting a position in Sydney with our client, Atlassian. Stay tuned for the next post in this series as we bring you along for the journey, as well as a podcast with our contacts at TBB, who have played a big part in bringing this partnership to life.
This partnership has given us the opportunity to do what we do best — help people relocate, settle in and begin a more rewarding life. In the wake of the Great Resignation, finding highly skilled talent is extremely difficult. But together, Talent Beyond Boundaries and Weichert Workforce Mobility can connect companies to a new source of candidates to fill critical talent gaps while supporting a more inclusive and diverse workforce. And our distinctive suite of services will make it easier for these employees and their families to assimilate into new locations.Dave Bencivengo
Our core Belief in Raising Your Hand encourages us — as a company and as individuals — to take the initiative to support causes that make this world a better place. Through this partnership, we have an opportunity to make a positive impact on both the refugee crisis and the talent shortage and unleash global talent in a new and meaningful way. Simply put, it’s a different way for relocation companies to think about our role in society and we’re proud to continue to raise the bar — and the stakes.
Interested in learning more about TBB’s impact, or how your organization can get involved in creating opportunities for refugee talent? Check out their website here: Talent Beyond Boundaries
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