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Policy Seminar

Refugee resettlement, Access to work, and Populism

From migration to integration in Europe

1 February, 16.00 - 17.30, Brussels

Accessing the labour market is a top priority for resettlement schemes in most parts of the world. It is directly related to settlement and wellbeing and has significant economic and political implications (e.g. OECD Indicators of Immigrant Integration 2015).

Accessing work however involves a range of barriers including the matching of refugee skills with local employers’ needs, validation of skills/credentials, policy and legal framework, as well as language skills, networks and cultural knowledge of the environment. In the current socio-political context, employment (or lack of) is used heavily in populist rhetoric constructing ‘the refugee’ as liability and burden.

Our policy debate

This event discussed the experience and research conducted by senior academics in three different European countries (Austria, Sweden and the UK) and brought together researchers, policy makers and international bodies to address the issue and ways to develop practical recommendations.

Please see:

The Briefing