Creating jobs for African refugees in the Information Technology (IT) sector in Italy

Through  Work Corridors for Refugees, refugees with professional skills are now given the opportunity to enter Italy with a valid work visa.

Twenty-five refugees from various sub-Saharan countries currently hosted in Uganda, are the first to benefit from a new pilot project called “ReadyForIT – Labour Pathways for Refugees” launched by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR and Accenture Foundation, Italy, together with a large consortium of partners.

With a background in information technology (IT), they have been selected to participate in an online training that enables them to acquire software programming skills through Java and SQL, and to learn Italian. After passing a final test, they will safely and formally migrate to Italy with a work contract in the IT sector, hired by the following companies: Accenture, Aubay, Btinkeeng, Gruppo SCAI, OverIT, Reale ITES and Valuetech.

According to UNHCR, to date, more than 120 million people worldwide have been forced to leave their homes due to conflict, persecution and human rights violations.  Very often, in the first host country, refugees do not find the opportunities to rebuild their lives with dignity and are forced to migrate by facing long and dangerous journeys.

The initiative recognizes the value of training and work as essential tools to restore dignity and confidence to those who have had to leave everything behind. Through the Work Corridors for Refugees, refugees’ skills potential is matched with the need for workers in Italian companies, generating mutual benefit.

The International Trade Centre (ITC) supports this initiative by having identified the local partner in Uganda, Refactory, to prepare the candidates for their technical interviews with employers while complementing their IT training delivered by DevelHope with onsite tech coaching and in person training on Java. It is part of ITC’s Refugees & Trade Programme that helps build a conducive ecosystem in support of refugees, displaced populations and host communities and unlocks economic opportunities and jobs.

Refactory is an academy focusing on reskilling African tech talents. In just a few years, Refactory has equipped more than 500+ learners with the skills needed to pursue a tech career of their choice with 80% employment rate.

UNHCR is planning to extend training programmes and work corridors to Italy for refugees in Egypt and Jordan in the shipbuilding and goldsmith sectors by the end of this year.