Despite having an abundance of qualifications, skills, and experience, refugee recruitment is hardly paid attention to. Organizations all over the world struggle with a shortage of labor. But they still overlook the talent that is right in front of them, which is of refugees.
The sole reason behind it is the misconceptions HR managers have regarding refugees. In this article, we have listed down the 5 common misconceptions that employers usually have that prevent refugee recruitment.
1. Refugees don’t have the skills
Employees often assume that refugees don’t have the skills. But it is completely wrong. Refugees can come from different stages of life and different professional backgrounds. They can be writers, carpenters, doctors, or even engineers.
Besides, war, violence, conflict, or prosecution doesn’t choose its victims. It can affect anyone. So, employers should free themselves from the biases and hire refugees relevant to their industry.
2. Refugees don’t possess working rights
The legal status of refugees differs from one country to another. While some countries provide full working rights to refugees, some don’t. In that case, you can look up resettlement agencies that facilitate refugee employment. They can advise you whether a refugee has authentic working rights or not.
3. Refugees don’t apply for jobs
Another misconception that employers have is that refugees don’t apply for jobs, which is why they couldn’t hire them.
On the contrary, refugees apply for jobs but try to keep their backgrounds and foreign qualifications a secret. They do this to avoid the stigma of humanitarian status or prejudice against their country of origin.
Other refugees simply fail to get through the traditional recruitment process as it differs from the ones in their home countries. That way more and more refugee talent is wasted.
4. Refugee recruitment requires more resources
This is another common misconception among employers. But in reality, refugee employment can start small. For example, it can start from traineeships, internships, and short-term or part-time contracting.
Besides, organizations that support refugee recruitment advise companies to take small steps. They recommend that employers should hire one or two refugees first and then gradually increase the number. It shall not need huge resource commitment.
5. Refugee recruitment is just a corporate social activity
Refugee recruitment isn’t just a corporate social activity for employers. It is more than that.
Refugee recruitment activity is a strong business case. Companies that often engage in large-scale refugee recruitment programs have reportedly achieved positive outcomes. In addition to high productivity, it helps to boost engagement, employee morale, and retention rates.
Refugee recruitment can bring huge benefits to employers, refugees, and society as a whole. Therefore, it’s time to get rid of these misconceptions and start promoting refugee employment.
