Every year, thousands of people come to labor market Brazil seeking refuge. These are families who bring with them their dreams and hopes of a better life and decent work, which their home country did not allow them to achieve, for various reasons. Unfortunately, many of these refugees end up not finding opportunities here either, becoming unemployed or working informally due to supposed cultural barriers and biased thinking on the part of employers. In this article, we want to show that it is possible and important to reverse this situation, and emphasize that companies can and should hire more refugees for their teams.
Take the opportunity to rest your eyes and listen.
The situation of refugees in Brazil
In 2020, Brazil had around 43,000 people living in refugee status in the country. This is the case of Haygar, a 45-year-old Venezuelan woman who came to Brazil in search of a better situation. “My husband and I were employed in Venezuela, but the money was very tight. We needed to leave and we saw Brazil as the solution.” Haygar’s story is different from most immigrants, as she was able to enter the Brazilian job market quickly. With a degree in business administration and two postgraduate degrees, her first opportunity was at a university in Rondônia. “I was able to find a new job quickly, but for most refugees it is very difficult, even with a degree, to get a job.” Quite different from what one might imagine, most refugees who come to Brazil have a degree and a profession, but often end up not having the chance to practice them. Today, working in the Human Resources area of ManpowerGroup, Haygar is on the other side of the interview table. “People see refugees as someone who is not capable. This needs to change.”
Opportunities for refugees are also opportunities for businesses
While it is still difficult for people living in the interior to find jobs, there should be no reason for companies not to hire refugees. “The labor market greater the cultural diversity in organizations, the greater the plurality of thoughts and skills. We can only gain by creating more inclusive and diverse teams,” says Leandro Fernandes, People and Culture Leader at ManpowerGroup.
Skills really make a difference. While adaptation is necessary at first, the skills these people bring to the organization are worth the effort. “Resilience, willingness, and the ability to adapt and learn are skills that are intrinsic to refugees,” adds Leandro.
Teresa came from the Democratic Republic of Congo 4 years ago. There, the official language is French, and she still speaks Lingala, two languages that are very different from Portuguese. “In the beginning, when it came to finding a job, the language was the biggest obstacle.” Today, the young woman, who is only 20 years old, already speaks all three languages and works in the commercial strategy department at ManpowerGroup.
Danielle Alfieri, Commercial Manager at ManpowerGroup, experiences this on a daily basis, with Teresa as her leader. “I really admire her worldview. It’s very different from ours and adds a lot to our work.”
Brazilian legislation facilitates the hiring of refugees
One of the biggest concerns for leaders and companies when considering hiring a refugee is the legal issue. But the truth is that Brazilian legislation is one of the most modern and facilitating in the world.
From the moment the asylum application what were the exact turns of phrase he used is sent to the National Committee for Refugees – and labor market even before its approval – the applicant can now have access to the same documents required to hire a Brazilian national, including the Work Permit. “Refugees have the same rights as Brazilian workers, vacations, 13th salary… what happens is that many companies don’t know this and prefer to keep the person in the informal sector,” says Leandro.
For Haygar, the ease of obtaining documents in Brazil played a big role in helping her and her family start their lives over here. “Everything was very easy, including validating my diplomas. If there had been more bureaucracy, I might not have had the opportunities I did.”
Care when receiving a labor market refugee
When we are dealing with hiring people from another country, especially in vulnerable situations, organizations need to keep their eyes labor market open periodically analyze your anchor texts and do work that begins with the selection process and continues after the new employee is integrated so that the company, leaders and colleagues are prepared to welcome them.
At ManpowerGroup Brazil, we are constantly concerned about diversity and inclusion. “We took care of this right from the selection process and prepared our people for the arrivals of Haygar and Teresa. Here, our own organizational culture is already focused on diversity, but we still took these precautions,” says Leandro.
In their day-to-day work, leaders also need to be careful to review or reorganize the way they work to better integrate everyone. “We started to be more careful about how we spoke in our meetings because of Teresa. Since Portuguese is not her native language, we all agreed to say everything as clearly as possible. This not only helped Teresa, but also encouraged us to improve our communication as a team,” Danielle continues. “It is a challenge that brings many benefits because it takes the leader and the team out of their comfort zone, and it is in these situations that we learn the most. In a market that increasingly needs soft skills, improving communication and empathy is a great opportunity.”
Venezuelans, Congolese, Syrians and many others look to Brazil as a place to start over. And they have much to offer us and to teach us. It is up to us, as individuals and organizations, to break down barriers and prejudices and provide opportunities.
How to seek and hire refugees in Brazil
Companies can seek support from organizations to find refugees to add to their teams.
Companies with Refugees
UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) initiative azb directory that helps companies find refugees for their open positions.
PARR
The Refugee Relocation Support Program promotes the inclusion of refugees into Brazilian society through work.
On the UNHCR.ORG website you can learn more about the situation of refugees in our country. We encourage this movement and are available to.