Excerpts from our survey report.

The number of people in refugee situations who registered their skills on the TalentLift talent platform reached 25,000 in recent months.

This milestone led us to develop a survey to seek candidate insights and feedback on the impact of our work and the tools we use to support displaced job seekers.

We set out to understand a few new measures of what it means for displaced people when job and skilled visa opportunities are open to them. An important measure of the impact that TalentLift and our partners have will always be the number of people who obtain a job, and relocate on the basis of their skills with a secure future ahead. Other important measures are average salaries in Canada, and overall wellbeing after arrival. But what about the impact for those who have not yet obtained a job and relocated, who are still in displacement? What impact is possible for this much larger talent pool? And knowing what’s possible, can we improve our support?

A significant finding of this survey is two different, powerful effects that knowledge of a skills-based solution can have for someone living in a refugee situation.

First, people are less likely to take a dangerous onward migration journey if there are job and skilled visa opportunities open to them. Last year, the International Organization for Migration counted at least 8,565 people who lost their lives on a migration route. More than half of these deaths were by drowning. There are countless more people who survive violence and other abuse while moving to find security. We know people make these decisions if they don’t think there’s a better option. A TalentLift candidate has previously shared, on living in limbo, “my biggest fear would be if this continues I would take any possible way to get out of Egypt, through the sea.” Awareness of skills-based immigration solutions can be an important deterrent to unsafe migration, keeping people hopeful and working towards a safe alternative.

Second, people are more likely to upskill or keep their skills current if there are job and skilled visa opportunities open to them. This might include language upskilling, gaining more work experience, or pursuing new skills or credentials. It’s common for TalentLift candidates to improve their English to become eligible for a job opening. Others focus on sharpening skills based on specific feedback from an unsuccessful recruitment experience, like moving from carpentry deeper into cabinet-making; or mastering a new programming language. Awareness of opportunities within reach has a clear ‘skills lift’ effect.

Beyond these findings, we heard that a skills-based solution is a dignified one, policy information is a valuable service, and that our number one goal should remain supporting many more people to access jobs and skilled visas so they can lift to their potential and leave displacement behind.

Read the full survey report.

Candidates living in refugee circumstances and seeking a job in Canada can join TalentLift. Employers seeking global talent while engaging their team in something transformative can start hiring.

The impact of job and skilled visa opportunities for those in refugee circumstances: Survey of TalentLift candidates