MADRID, November 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent) – a global network of companies committed to the economic integration of refugees – announces the launch of Tent Spain, a coalition of more than 30 large companies that help refugees access the Spanish labor market through employment preparation and job opportunities.
Spain currently hosts more than 300,000 refugees and 130,000 asylum seekers from Ukraine, Venezuela, Syria, among other countries. Despite labor shortages in key sectors such as catering, construction and engineering, few refugees have formal employment. In Spain, refugees face numerous barriers to accessing employment, such as lower language proficiency, transportation problems, lack of childcare options, as well as a lack of support and professional networks. Businesses have a critical role in addressing these barriers and hiring refugees.
The 33 companies of Tent Spain cover various sectors and are the following: Accenture, Adecco Group, Alsea, Amazon, BBVA, Deloitte, Dow Jones, FCC Medio Ambiente, Ferrer, Globant, Hempel, Hilton, Ignis, IHG Hotels
“The increase in global crises and conflicts has brought a large number of refugees to Spain and companies have the responsibility and the opportunity to integrate them into their work teams,” said Gideon Maltz, CEO of Tent. “The efforts of the companies that join Tent Spain today will have a long-term impact, both for refugees and for the companies themselves. Our studies show that companies that hire refugees benefit from numerous advantages, including greater retention rates, greater commitment from your employees and a positive perception of your brand,” he concluded.
“All the companies that join Tent Spain today share the vision that getting a job is the most important milestone for a refugee to rebuild their life and that hiring refugees is a win-win,” stated Amaia Elizalde, director of Tent for Spain. “Tent Spain is here to help make this process as easy and effective as possible as these companies launch or expand their refugee hiring efforts,” she added.
Tent Spain will offer participating companies a series of free services, including: materials and training for HR teams; exchange of good practices and ideas, obtained through the global network of Tent companies and adapted to the Spanish context; Periodic meetings and workshops with other member companies of Tent Spain, as well as recommendations from the best allied entities and organizations that can connect companies with refugees looking for employment.
A study published by Tent earlier this year revealed that Spaniards of all age groups and political opinions are significantly more likely to purchase a product or service from a company that hires refugees: 65% of Spanish respondents said who would be more likely to do so. This is the highest percentage recorded among the seven European countries surveyed.
Tent and the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration have recently signed a general Protocol of actions to advance the integration of refugees into the labor market in Spain. Tent Spain is officially presented today at a high-level event co-organized by Tent and the Ministry.
“We must be able to humanize organizations by empathizing with the suffering of other people, which is what makes us human above all else. At FCC Medio Ambiente this is part of our fundamental values, and one of the ways to put it into practice is facilitating the inclusion of refugees in our workforce. Our team is delighted to join Tent Spain and the other companies in the coalition to ensure that more refugees have the opportunity to find a life-changing job in Spain,” said Luis Suárez Zarcos, Director of Human Resources at FCC Medio Ambiente.
Tent Spain is the first national Tent coalition to be launched in Europe, and joins the existing coalitions in the United States and Canada.
For media inquiries please write to: media@tent.org
Acerca de Tent Partnership for Refugees
With more and more refugees displaced around the world, businesses have a critical role in helping refugees economically integrate into their new communities. Tent was launched in 2016 by Hamdi Ulukaya, the CEO and founder of Chobani (a multi-billion dollar food company in the United States) to mobilize global companies to fill this gap. Today, Tent is a network of more than 350 large companies committed to helping hundreds of thousands of refugees access the local labor market, helping them prepare for employment and connecting them to work. For more information visit www.tent.org.
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