The role of employer and business membership organizations in promoting the labour market integration of refugees

Good practices from Colombia, Germany, Türkiye and Uganda

This brief highlights the role that Employers' and Business Member Organizations (EBMOs) can play in promoting the labour market integration of refugees. It showcases good practices of EBMOs from around the world, and how these organizations have worked with their members, government, workers’ organizations and other stakeholders to facilitate the labour market integration of refugees.

The content of the brief was developed through a two-fold approach: first, a global stocktaking exercise of relevant EBMOs’ experiences was undertaken, covering Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Türkiye and Uganda. Second, based on the depth of information available and the diversity of displacement crises, four countries were selected – Colombia, Germany, Türkiye and Uganda – to develop country-specific case studies with an overview of the displacement context and the displacement response of EBMOs, and a conclusion that summarizes the good practices of EBMOs from around the world.

These are organized into six themes:
(1) advocating for evidence-based policies;
(2) making the business case for hiring and working with refugees;
(3) matching refugee labour with employers’ needs;
(4) providing employers with legal and human resource support;
(5) publicly recognizing employers’ good practices; and
(6) engaging with development cooperation partners.