@ UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Like many European countries, Greece is facing labour force shortages in many sectors of its economy. Yet, there is here a pool of people with skills that the country needs and who are willing – and able – to make a work and contribute to the development of the country that has hosted them. According to official data, there are some 70,000 refugees living in Greece, either with refugee status or as beneficiaries of subsidiary protection or, in the case of Ukrainian refugees, with temporary protection status – which grant them the right to live and work in Greece. Most of them are in the economically active age groups. Many employers are hiring them already, but others are wondering if it is worth investing, long-term, in employees with a refugee profile.
At UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, we are working closely with the Ministry of Migration and Asylum to implement its national integration strategy. One of its pillars is the smooth entry of refugees into the labour market, under conditions of dignity and legality. In this context, we have undertaken a number of initiatives, of which the main one is connecting employers with refugee candidates through the matching of refugees’ qualifications with quality jobs through the ADAMA Integration Centre, which opened in mid-December 2021, with excellent results so far.
Many refugees in Greece are in the 18-39 age group. The skills mapping by UNHCR of a representative sample shows that most have completed some level of formal education outside Greece. A significant percentage, close to 30% in some age groups, have completed post-secondary or higher education in their country. In relation to their previous professional experience, there is an almost symmetrical matching between the sample profiles and the gaps in the Greek labour market: construction, agriculture, manufacturing, hospitality, food industry, customer service, sales, personal care, mastered skilled trades. Of course, the sample also includes refugees with highly specialized skills, such as lawyers, doctors and other medical professionals, academics and ICT professionals.
Given these profiles, it is clear that allowing refugees to enter the labour market is a situation where all sides win. Refugees can bring their much-needed manpower and skills to companies and society as a whole, and it is a proven fact that companies which have invested on a diverse workforce have made gains in innovation and productivity. But integration goes beyond just providing livelihoods – it is about participating in the society they are living in, it is about the type of cultural diversity that brings about solidarity, mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence, all of which results in a more cohesive and resilient host society. And this benefit can be, in the long term, even greater than economic development.
*This op-ed was hosted in Greek by newspaper TA NEA on 02.08.2022, under the title “Integration goes beyond just providing livelihoods”
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