In the aftermath of the World Refugee Day (June 20), While the number of people fleeing conflicts and persecutions all over the world is maintained at record levels and brutal cuts to humanitarian funding are putting even more at risk millions of lives, some positive and encouraging facts emerge on the front of the work inclusion of refugee people in Italy. This is demonstrated by the data of the final report of the seventh edition of the “Welcome. Working for Refugee Integration” program, the program through which UNHCR Italia favors the inclusion of refugee people in the labor market, promoting the involvement of the private sector in collaboration with the institutions and with the organizations of civil society.
From the report it emerges that In 2024 over 16,200 professional courses for refugee people were activated, with a growth of 38% compared to the previous yeara result that brings to over 50,300 insertions obtained from the birth of the program in 2017. 227 companies are rewarded in 2024 with the Welcome logo, 7 more than the previous year, 969 in total from the start of the initiative. “We are deeply proud of the results achieved by the Welcome program – declares Chiara Cardoletti, representative of UNHCR for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino – The success of this initiative stems from the determination of refugee people, who every day put courage, skills and talent in the field to build a dignified future. But it is also the result of the collaboration with the Ministry of Labor, the support of fundamental partners and the growing awareness, companies, which the professional inclusion of refugees does not represent only an act of social responsibility, but above all constitutes a concrete opportunity to face some of the most urgent challenges of the labor market, starting from the misalignment between supply and demand. virtuous paths started within the rewarding companies tell stories of resilience and transformation that have enriched not only the life of refugees, but also that of colleagues and communities that welcomed them “.
The Welcome program is confirmed as a key tool, capable of proposing concrete solutions for the work inclusion of refugee people. Over seven editions, the project has grown constantly to become a winning model, a real program for a structured and participated process of inclusion, based on a multistakeholder approach, in which the skills of the different subjects concerned integrate and support.
The growth of the program concerns all the main aspects, starting from the highest number ever recorded of candidate companies: Work contracts represent over 98% of the total insertions – among these, permanent contracts represent 5.2% – while the remaining internships are. The percentage of women inserted remains stable and around 19%. Among the factors that led to the hiring of refugees, in first place, for 62% of companies, there is the choice of a “greater commitment to the community and to disadvantaged subjects”, follows “the promotion of cultural change within and outside the company” (43%) and “adhesion to the principles of corporate social responsibility” (41% of the rewarded companies). Among the sectors of rewarded companies, in the first place we find accommodation and catering with 20%, in front of the construction sector, which rises from 13%to 18%, followed by manufacturing activities to 15%.
In this seventh edition, the UNHCR also assigned the We Welcome logo a 57 Cooperatives, non -profit organizations, foundations, trade associations, unions, services for work and local authorities who, in various capacities, have committed themselves to encourage inclusion in the job market of asylum seekers and international protection beneficiaries. Welcome is a constantly expanding ecosystem. Since 2022, the Welcomnet network has involved 127 civil society organizations in 18 regions and 60 provinces. In support of companies, refugees and local associations, 7 Welcome Liaison Officer also operate, active in the integration hubs made with i Municipalities of Bari, Bologna, Brescia, Milan, Naples, Rome and Turinas part of the common space program. 2024 also marked the start of new planning.
The Welcome-in-One-Click platform, launched at the end of 2023, has seen an exponential growth of users and opportunities and has now entered a second phase, more dynamic and targeted, to facilitate the encounter between job offers and the skills and talents of refugee people. At the same time, the first working corridors for refugees were activated, thanks to the collaboration between institutions and companies and with the fundamental support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies. Three pilot projects in the IT sectors, goldsmiths and naval shipbuilding are already reality; Others will be launched in the coming weeks. The Welcome project. Working for Refugee Integration is carried out in collaboration with the Adecco Foundation and is supported by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, by Confindustria, by the Global Compact Network Italy, by the Italian Association for Personnel Management (AIDP) and Confimprese.
