By joining Tent UK as a founding member, Randstad UK says it wants to “double down” on its refugee hiring program in the UK.
Randstad UK has recently become a member of Tent UK, a fresh coalition comprising more than 60 prominent companies dedicated to assisting refugees in obtaining employment opportunities within the UK. This move comes as no surprise given Randstad UK’s longstanding involvement in the global Tent Partnership for Refugees, a network of companies worldwide devoted to facilitating refugee integration into labor markets. By assuming a founding role within Tent UK, Randstad UK expresses its intention to intensify its efforts in fostering refugee employment initiatives within the UK.
Victoria Short, Randstad’s chief executive in the UKs, said, “Since the spring of 2022, Randstad has been supporting those affected by the war in Ukraine. Globally, we made a €250,000 contribution to UNICEF and became a member of the global Tent Partnership for Refugees to help them integrate economically into their new host countries.
“Internationally, over the last decade, Randstad has supported in the region of 100,000 migrants and refugees through our programs, either training them or helping them find work,” Short adds. “By joining Tent UK, we want to build on that success and double down on our refugee hiring program in the UK.
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“We have committed to supporting Ukrainian refugees — women in particular — by recruiting people from within our organization to act as their mentors. These women have lost their homes, sometimes even families, and they find themselves fighting to get back into the world of work. Despite the fact that they have often had high-level, professional careers, they face many barriers to entering the domestic labor market. By providing one-to-one, professional guidance, support, and mentoring, we hope to help them navigate our job market. We have an opportunity not just to do what is right, but to make use of this invaluable talent pool.”
“This initiative aligns with our global aspiration to become the world’s most equitable and specialized talent company and is also an opportunity for our colleagues to showcase the support we offer and the added value we deliver to inclusion and social impact projects in the UK.
“This is the best sort of corporate social responsibility initiative,” affirms Short, “a meaningful measure that can really support wider societal goals.”
Despite the UK’s reception of over 500,000 refugees from various nations like Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Syria, and more recently, Ukraine, a significant portion has struggled to secure formal employment. Government data reveals that while refugees possess the legal entitlement to work, they are faced with a 20 percent lower likelihood of employment compared to British citizens, with this disparity increasing to 30 percent for refugee women. Concurrently, the UK grapples with labor shortages, evident in nearly one million job vacancies across vital sectors such as hospitality, food service, manufacturing, and healthcare.
“At a moment when UK employers face significant labor shortages, yet refugees across the country struggle to find decent employment, we see an extraordinary opportunity for our work,” said Gideon Maltz, CEO of Tent. “The coalition of companies that have come together to launch Tent UK understands that we need to act at scale to help hundreds of thousands of refugees in the UK secure jobs, rebuild their lives, and integrate into their new communities. Tent is uniquely placed and ready to help companies develop ambitious programs to include refugees.”
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