Upwork, one of the biggest work marketplaces, and Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent), a global network supporting refugees, launched “Opportunity Unlimited: Connecting displaced professionals to remote work.” The program aims to connect thousands of professionals displaced from Ukraine with companies providing them remote work opportunities.
Russia vs. Ukraine crisis made millions of people lose everything they had. In many cases, they had to rebuild their lives as refugees in other countries and seek job opportunities. Fortunately, with remote work, getting a job is a bit easier than it was years ago.
Opportunity Unlimited: Remote Work Program for Ukrainian Refugees
The Opportunity Unlimited program will work with professional services company Genpact and digital transformation firm Sutherland as hiring partners. These will work with Upwork and Tent to match professionals from Ukraine with various backgrounds and skills, including web, mobile and software development, sales, customer support, and marketing.
According to Gideon Maltz, executive director at the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Sutherlandglobal):
“As we mark a grim milestone – over four months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – it’s more important than ever that displaced people within and outside Ukraine are given a chance to earn income for themselves and their families. As permanent employment may not yet be available for most refugees from Ukraine, freelance work is a lifeline for connecting them to income and leveraging their skills, especially in the IT and digital sectors. By actively recruiting talent that the war in Ukraine has displaced, companies in the U.S., Europe, and around the world will not only be helping vulnerable people but also benefiting from displaced professionals’ talent.”
Tent and Upwork also partner with network tech providers such as Payoneer and the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), and NGOs such as HIAS, Techfugees, and Humans in the Loop, among others.