Chamber practices in integration of refugees into labour markets

The "Chamber practices in integration of refugees into labour markets" event was a response to the unexpected influx of Ukrainian refugees in Eastern and Central European countries. All nations are doing their best to help refugees by providing them with shelter and safety. However, because these migrants are frequently looking for work, the best way to assist them is to facilitate the process of finding stable employment in Europe.

Given that one of the major challenges for European businesses is a lack of workers in many sectors, there are open positions for refugees. It is, however, difficult for businesses to hire people from third countries when they have little prior experience in doing so. As a result, we intend to organise this event in which colleagues from Western and Southern European countries who have gained experience in assisting refugees in finding suitable jobs will share their successful projects.

Following the 2015 migration crisis, chambers from many affected countries developed solutions to assist both businesses and refugees in hiring qualified candidates and finding work. The time has come to share this experience with chambers and businesses from countries currently facing similar challenges.

Many European businesses are attempting to facilitate the reception of Ukrainian refugees in order to aid their integration into local labour markets. This is not easy because language barriers, a lack of documents, or simply unfamiliarity with local labour demands continue to be issues, but some of them can be overcome. There are numerous successful examples of projects developed by chambers that made it easier for businesses to hire refugees. Eurochambres wanted to build on the chambers’ expertise and shared the advice with the business community.