An official partnership was launched by the International Organitation for Migration (IOM) and the not-for-profit global organization Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) in an effort to channel qualified and talented migrants and refugees towards working opportunities.
A formal partnership, aimed at strengthening work mobility paths for refugees and other displaced persons worldwide, was launched by the International Organitation for Migration (IOM) and the not-for-profit global organization, Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB).
The announcement was made in an IOM press release on November 24.
Globally, 75% of firms report the shortage of talent, the highest in over a decade. Displaced populations can help to fill the gap of available critical competencies once barriers are removed which have been responsible for blocking their access to qualified migration, the organizations say.
Over 50 thousand registered displaced persons on TBB online platform
Founded in 2016, TBB was the first organization in the world to focus on unblocking the paths of qualified work mobility for refugees and displaced people.
Up to now, over 50,000 displaced persons have reportedly registered on TBB's talent catalog -- an online platform specifically created for refugees. Those on the platform represent a wide range of highly sought-after professional profiles at global level, such as software developers, health workers, engineers and qualified labor.
Already over 300 of those registered -- and their families -- can use the personalized qualified work paths to start their careers again and re-build their lives in countries such as Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Over 19 million people assisted in 30 years
In the last three decades IOM says it has provided assistance to over 19 million people with its direct intervention and its support to mobility for a range of regular migration humanitarian paths, family reconciliation cases or based on skills and qualifications.
"This partnership is a fundamental component to increase our impact," noted Steph Cousins, CEO of Talent Beyond Boundaries.
"Our aim is to help hundreds to thousands of displaced persons to safely relocate for work-related reasons each year. For too long, public opinion has been fed a false narrative about people's mobility, portraying them as a burden. We worked to change this narrative, highlighting their skills, facilitating their visa paths and allowing employers to recruit talent that was not being used," he added.
"The work mobility paths are a winning solution to face the lack of labor at all levels and to draw from new talents while safeguarding the protection of migrants," stated IOM's Deputy Director General for the organization's operations, Ugochi Daniels.