Omar heard about a job opportunity through Talent Beyond Boundaries with Shopify, a leading commerce platform for business to start and grow, and decided to go for it. He applied, landed an interview, and then another one, and then got the news he was hired for a role in Canada.

A job offer is momentous for anyone, but for Omar, it also meant a chance to redirect his life. 

When Omar applied to join Shopify’s team he was living as a refugee in Lebanon. He had the skills and experience to be competitive for a globally-leading company. What he and most people living as refugees lacked before this was the opportunity to get seen by a hiring manager and to even consider himself eligible for a role that would require a skilled visa to relocate. 

Omar left Syria permanently in 2016, no longer able to live in peace and wary of military conscription. 

“When the war started in my country, I was a fresh graduate back then and I was full of dreams and hopes to become this amazing web developer, however, I was unable to fulfill my dreams in a country where most dreams became getting a paycheque that gets you through the month”

In Syria before the war, he was a computer engineer with a Master’s degree and real possibilities ahead. In Lebanon, his professional identity became secondary to his identity as a Syrian refugee. He couldn’t drive, he couldn’t legally work in his profession, he couldn’t access scholarships to recertify locally, and he didn’t feel wanted in the Lebanese capital Beirut, a city struggling to meet the needs of citizens too. “Day by day, it became more and more difficult,” Omar said.

In 2019, Lebanon hosted the largest number of refugees relative to its population. Omar was one of nearly one million refugees facing few options to build back a good life. 

Skilled migration is a slowly opening route for people like Omar, who are talented but feel trapped in displacement. This new solution is opening because there are governments like those in Canada and Ontario making skilled visas more accessible to refugees, companies like Shopify pioneering recruitment from within refugee populations, and non-profits like Talent Beyond Boundaries supporting displaced talent to become more visible. 

When Shopify hired him, “it was like a dream came true. I have always been passionate about technology and amazed by the possibilities that technology provides.” And there was Canada waiting, which he called “a dreamland.” 

Omar and Roula arrived at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Sunday as a setting sun gave the city an orange glow. They would head to Hamilton next to quarantine for two weeks before settling into work and a new community. For start-up funds, they have the support of Windmill Microlending, for the immediate costs of living and setting up an in-home workspace.

The gains in their arrival are immense. The couple leave a worsening situation in Beirut for a new home with a livelihood, the space and peace to rebuild, and the services and rights to thrive. Shopify has become the new ground beneath Canadian business even more during the pandemic period of online-only exchange, and talented people like Omar are core to meeting the challenge. The Canadian Government has echoed the call for talent to vitalize companies and communities, targeting 401,000 newcomers in 2021. 

Lucky for Canada there’s Omar and Roula. Omar loves programming and teaching himself new things, like programming in a new language, and gravitated to client-facing support roles because of his creativity and warmth. Roula is an accountant with a Master’s degree, just as remarkable and eager to meet her potential.

Explore displaced talent if you’re looking to hire. The impacts are transformative: https://www.talentbeyondboundaries.org/for-employers 

Talent Beyond Boundaries is a grateful partner of Miles4Migrants in relocating families like Omar and Roula to their new homes. Windmill Microlending is a partner in their journey, providing a relocation loan and financial coaching for a secure start in Canada.