Upwardly Global Employer Working Group Meeting Update — October 2022
On October 6, 2022, Upwardly Global convened its Employer Working Group, made up of over 60 corporations, to continue the important work of co-creating solutions to better support all vulnerable communities and integrating immigrant and refugee talent into our workforce. We called together employers and asked them to provide relevant, employer-specific information on the latest refugee crises.
Partners at Fragomen joined to share the latest on what employers can expect when screening and hiring Ukrainian jobseekers from a legal and work authorization perspective. In Warsaw, Poland, Upwardly Global launched a pilot project to help connect companies with untapped Ukrainian talent. As many as 94% of Ukrainian refugees are women and children. Of those, 77% are either vocational-trained or higher, and 60% are college educated professionals. Under the Uniting for Ukraine program, the flow of Ukrainians into the U.S. is going smoothly, with approvals on average taking 3-4 weeks from sponsoring to entering. We are currently working on expanding this program by building a portal in Ukraine with resources for jobseekers and employers.
On the Afghan crisis, the Upwardly Global Employer Engagement team shared with employers tips around successful integration of Afghan new hires, making them aware of the accommodations needed for cultural and religious practice in the workplace. Our new special report highlights Afghan newcomers’ $1.71 billion potential annual earnings and $227 million potential annual tax dollars in an effort to spur legislative or administrative action and ensure stability for over 36,000 Afghans in the U.S.
Lastly, we were thrilled to welcome Amazon and Deloitte, who shared their plans and models for how they are committing to hiring refugees as well as the accompanying infrastructure they are building internally to support this work. Amazon committed to hiring 5,000 refugees by the end of 2024, and Deloitte pledged a 3-year agreement to hire 250 refugees and train an additional 250 jobseekers.
Upwardly Global’s Employer Working Group
Made up of over 100 corporations, Upwardly Global’s Employer Working Group aims to engage corporate America to better understand the roadblocks in hiring work-authorized international talent and to co-create solutions. Upwardly Global’s unique position working with many employers over the last 25 years gives special insight into trends, pain points, and best practices.
This invite-only working group is a platform to engage with peers, share best practices and challenges, and co-create solutions to better integrate immigrant and refugee talent into our workforce. Email us to learn more.
