Mohammed Hakmi, 26, a Syrian refugee from Lebanon, on the job at Bonfire Interactive in Kitchener, Ontario, a tech company that hired him as a skilled worker. ©UNHCR/Annie Sakkab
After living in Lebanon for 8 years as a refugee, Mohammed Hakmi is the first refugee to come to Canada as a skilled worker under an innovative pilot program.
By Rachel McNally in Ottawa, Canada
Up until a few weeks ago, Mohammed Hakmi was one of the world’s 25 million refugees looking for a solution. Then, the Syrian software developer was given a life changing opportunity.
Bonfire Interactive, a tech company in Kitchener, Ontario, recently welcomed Mohammed to their team, where he is already using his IT skills to support the company in meeting its growing needs and helping to fill a shortage of tech workers in the region.
“We’ve got a great candidate who went through the same process other candidates go through, very high technical ability, good communication skill[s], everything you’d expect,” said Bonfire’s CEO Corry Flatt.
Mohammed sees the model as “a two-way benefit” because employers are helping to positively change the lives of refugees and in return, profit from their skills and talents.
Corry Flatt (right), CEO of Bonfire, is happy to welcome Mohammed Hakmi to the team. ©UNHCR/Annie Sakkab
This belief in a win-win situation is at the heart of Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB), an organization that matches employers to refugees who have the skills they need – which is how Bonfire found Mohammed.
In Lebanon and Jordan, TBB has identified over 10,000 Syrian professionals in IT, engineering, trades, accounting and health care. Most of the refugee professionals TBB identifies are unable to work, so their skills go unused.
In 2019, 58% of immigrants will come to Canada through one of several economic immigration programs. Many refugees are not able to access these programs, not because they lack the skills or education, but because of simple barriers like having an expired passport. The Canadian government created an innovative pilot called the Economic Mobility Pathways Project to test the possibility for refugees to immigrate as skilled workers. Mohammed is the project’s first success story.
“They have knowledge, they have skills, but these skills and knowledge are disabled”, said Mohammed of the thousands of refugee professionals living in Lebanon. “They can make a positive impact on communities. So why could we not use this power, the power of refugees?”
The new Global Compact on Refugees is asking the same question, and encouraging countries to go beyond selecting refugees only based on their vulnerability, by creating new pathways for them to legally move to a third country. UNHCR and TBB are encouraging Canada and other countries to explore how their economic immigration programs could provide these additional means for refugees to rebuild their lives and careers.
“While these pathways are not a substitute for resettlement, they can complement programmes by facilitating safe and legal entry for refugees to other countries,” said UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Volker Türk.
UNHCR hopes that Mohammed Hakmi’s example will open up further opportunities through economic immigration, connecting skilled refugees overseas with employment needs in Canada. This new project offers renewed hope through an innovative solution for refugees, while Canadian companies and communities at large are enriched by refugees’ talents.
