Around the world today there are nearly 80 million people living displaced as a consequence of war and crisis, including 26 million refugees. And without a safety net, displaced people are facing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Now more than ever forcibly displaced people need solutions. Labour mobility should be one of those solutions.

In 2016 Talent Beyond Boundaries became the first organisation in the world dedicated to supporting refugees and other forcibly displaced people with skills to seek secure futures through labour mobility. Since then we have been building and testing an employer-driven model of labour mobility that creates additional pathways for refugees to access durable solutions.

Evaluating our impact

Earlier this year we decided it was time to do a deep dive evaluation to learn from our pilot phase. We surveyed more than 250 refugees involved in our program in Jordan and Lebanon and dozens of employer representatives in Australia, Canada and the UK. We also held focus groups with refugees who have moved already through labour mobility and conducted in-depth interviews with 25 key experts and partners to gain their insights into our program. Our whole team of staff and volunteers was involved in this process.

It was an amazing and affirming experience to be part of, and the evaluation has left our entire team feeling energized about what we need to do to scale this solution to benefit hundreds of thousands of displaced people. 

You can read the key evaluation insights here or read the full evaluation report here. 

Key findings

Depth of talent: There are more than 18,800 skilled refugees registered on TBB's Talent Catalog database, representing more than 150 occupations. This is the tip of the iceberg of displaced talent worldwide. TBB has produced empirical evidence through its Talent Catalog database and employer feedback which, together with evidence of the post-secondary education rates of the world’s 13 million working-age refugees, gives us great confidence that the talent supply can support a large-scale labour mobility solution to displacement.

Benefits of labour mobility for refugees: TBB has uncovered new insights on the development benefits of labour mobility, its potential to disincentivize irregular migration, and a “skills lift” effect when refugees know they can use their skills as a passport out of displacement. Of 259 candidate respondents to TBB’s evaluation survey:

• Nearly half said they were less likely to consider an irregular migration journey because of their engagement with TBB and the possibility of accessing a labour mobility pathway

• 82% reported increased motivation to maintain their skills and pursue professional self-development

• Respondents also reported regaining hope, confidence and self-worth as a result of their skills and capacities being valued

Motivations for employers to hire displaced talent: TBB identified strong employer demand for international refugee talent during the pilot phase, and employers reported a strong positive response to hiring refugees through the program. The most common factors motivating employers to hire refugees through the program were: to fill skills shortages that cannot be filled locally (63%); to fulfill CSR and purpose goals (47%); to create a talent pipeline to meet future skills needs (44%); and to meet diversity and inclusion goals (34%). These answers indicate a clear business case driving employer uptake, an important finding that indicates scaleable demand.

Getting to scale: 127 people from the Middle East have secured a solution to displacement through the program and have either travelled or are waiting for visas to Australia, Canada and the UK, where they have a pathway to citizenship. Another 20 refugees living in Kenya, supported by our partner RefugePoint, are in an immigration process to Canada.

Systems change: TBB has helped to foster an enabling environment for scaling this solution by contributing to successful advocacy to embed commitments to labour mobility in the Global Compact on Refugees and Global Compact for Migration. TBB has also secured commitments from the Australian and Canadian governments to allocate skilled visas to refugee applicants and to address policy barriers that prevent displaced people from being able to apply. 

The 26 countries identified by UNHCR as resettlement partners alone issue over 2 million work visas annually. When refugees can equitably access these visas and secure a fraction of them, we will have created solutions for hundreds of thousands of displaced people every year

Where to next?

TBB has learned the importance of securing systemic changes to economic immigration programs to enable refugees to access them and to overcome information, policy, operational and financial barriers. We have now secured official labour mobility programs with the governments of Australia and Canada, we’ve established early results in the UK and we’ve tested a number of innovative measures such as loans to help candidates overcome financial barriers to migration. 

We are now ready to scale this solution - but to do that we need more partners to crowd in. The next frontier for TBB will be ramping up our engagement with suitable partner organizations to support them to replicate parts of TBB’s model. 

If your organization wants to partner with Talent Beyond Boundaries on this exciting new phase please reach out: info@talentbeyondboundaries.org. 

Read the Key Evaluation Insights report

Read the full Global Evaluation Report

Learn more about TBB’s work on our Impact Page

Special thanks to Dr Claire Higgins, Haitham Kukhun and Kate O’Malley for providing your expert advice and all of the key informants and candidates who participated in interviews and surveys for this evaluation. We are forever grateful.