Life-changing results

Our model is win-win: for the global economy, for local businesses and communities, and for refugees themselves.

Opening global pathways

As a result of our advocacy, several countries including Australia, Canada and the UK have launched displaced talent visa programs in recent years. Together, these programs will provide safe migration pathways for thousands of refugees.

We are now focused on expanding our model worldwide. We’re working with UNHCR and other partners to engage refugees in Latin America and Asia, as well as the Middle East. We’ve established a presence in the United States, and we’re working with IOM, Fragomen, and others on Displaced Talent for Europe (DT4E); an EU-funded pilot matching displaced people in Jordan and Lebanon with employers in Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, and the UK.

Our work has contributed to concrete commitments in the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact on Migration to open up labour mobility pathways for refugees. We are a founding member of the Global Taskforce on Refugee Labour Mobility, chaired by the Canadian Government.

 

Video: TBB alumni from around the world share their experiences of labour mobility.

 

Results at a glance

Number of displaced job seekers supported to register themselves on the Talent Catalog.

Number of countries to establish displaced talent visa programs.

Number of refugee candidate CVs submitted to employers globally.

Number of people assisted to secure a migration solution through a displaced talent visa program.

 

Refugee candidates who report feeling ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with support from their new employer.

Refugee candidates who rate their quality of life as 'better' 12 months after relocation.

Refugee candidates who report sending remittances to family/friends in difficult circumstances.

Employers who say they are likely to hire refugee candidates through TBB again.

 

Latest outcomes

Recognition from the sector

  • “Showcasing refugees’ skills connects refugees to global work opportunities, and also shifts the narrative from one of refugees being burdens to host countries to one in which refugees are recognised as skilled workers for whom countries should be competing.”

    Forced Migration Review
    Towards greater visibility and recruitment of skilled refugees

  • “Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB), founded in 2016, showed that employers may embrace the possibility to hire refugees from third countries if they have a labour demand that cannot be satisfied by the local labour market and if administrative hurdles can be kept low.”

    International Centre for Migration Policy Development
    Skills based complementary pathways to protection

  • “Talent Beyond Boundaries connects skilled refugees with countries and companies that need their skills, forging new sustainable solutions for refugees to rebuild their lives while boosting the global economy.”

    Government of Canada and UNHCR
    The Economic Mobility Pathways Project–Policy Principles and Lessons Learned

  • “TBB has been instrumental in raising the profile of labour migration as a durable solution. They aim to open international employment pathways, through labour mobility schemes, for skilled refugees. They work with refugees to provide them with the support needed to obtain international employment and work with companies to help them find top refugee talent.”

    Durable Solutions Platform
    Access to Resettlement and Complementary Pathways for Syrian Refugees

  • “In partnership with UNHCR, Talent Beyond Boundaries, a civil society initiative, has developed a talent catalogue to facilitate employment of refugees in third countries through labour mobility schemes.”

    UNHCR
    3 year strategy (2019-2021) on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways

  • “Whereas formal cooperation partnerships between governments may take time to develop, NGOs can be quicker and nimbler in providing refugees with labor matching services. Talent Beyond Boundaries is seeking to establish links between skilled refugees and employers in an effort to use labor migrant visas to help refugees fill skills gaps.”

    Migration Policy Institute
    Protection through Mobility: Opening Labor and Study Migration Channels to Refugees

Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility

TBB is proud to be a founding member of the Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility (GTF), along with the governments of Canada and Australia, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration, the International Chamber of Commerce, Fragomen, and RefugePoint. The GTF was launched in April 2022 and announced Canada as its inaugural chair. [Watch the video]

To support the expansion of labour mobility pathways, the Task Force will engage and share information and technical advice with countries interested in adopting such schemes, advocate for hiring refugees in the private sector and through industry and sector-specific initiatives, and conduct research and explore policy solutions to challenges that stand in the way of scaling these initiatives.

 
Mohammed+and+Trudeau.jpg

Pictured: Mohammed (second from left), a Software Engineer and Syrian refugee, meets the Canadian Prime Minister (centre) at Bonfire HQ in Canada. “I’m very optimistic for my new life”, said Mohammed. “From now, I can start building my future and enhance my skills and become a productive person in Canadian society.”

 

Success stories

Global Evaluation (2020)

TBB has demonstrated the viability of an employer-led labour mobility solution to displacement. Our model has had a transformational impact on the lives of the refugees involved in the pilot phase and has also generated a range of complementary positive benefits for employers, destination country economies and refugees still living in displacement.