The two companies are working together to find roles for alternative professionals in the technology sector.
As Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues, some who have escaped from Ukraine are in need of help finding jobs in the tech sector. Finally, Upwork has announced that it is partnering with a non-profit organization, Tent, to help facilitate placement for Ukrainian refugees. The new initiative, named “Unlimited opportunities: Connecting travel professionals with remote work“It aims to connect displaced Ukrainian professionals with teleworking opportunities by the end of 2022.
The two companies have also announced that they will partner with a network of technology providers such as Payoneer, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs including HIAS, Techfugees. , Humans in the Loop, Na’amal, Upwardly Global and others to identify alternative talent can use the Upwork platform.
“Our workforce is significantly Ukrainian. Patrick Hedren, vice president and head of global public policy and government relations at Upwork. “I think for many US companies, this experience has come very close to home, and we’ve been working incredibly hard since late last year, to try and do everything we can for our colleagues. and for those using our platform there and beyond. “
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Unlimited initiative opportunities
While campaigns from Upwork and Tent can assist people with skills in technology categories like web, mobile and software development, customer support, and marketing, there are also many opportunities. Others are for people who are looking for a job, according to Hedren.
“I think the latest number, what I’ve heard, is that we can have over 10,000 different categories that are broad enough, but specific enough to capture the work happening,” he said. “But within those categories, we certainly see a typical concentration in skills, such as software engineering and design. We see accountants. We see data science and data related roles and things like that. And certainly, those are some of the areas where we’ve seen our early partners, like Bloomberg, Genpact, and Sutherland, start to look at how we can bring together the vehicles associated with skills. that specific. “
In addition to remote opportunities for Ukrainian refugees, Upwork is also providing assistance to relocation professionals such as:
- Job match between alternative talent and available job opportunities
- Access to talent coaches who will help displaced professionals and advise them on how to market themselves to companies
- Skill certifications and badges to increase your chances of hiring displaced talent
Gideon Maltz, executive director at Tent Partnership for Refugees, said: “It is more important than ever that displaced people inside and outside Ukraine have the opportunity to earn an income for themselves and their families. “As most of the refugees from Ukraine may not have a permanent job yet, freelance work is a lifesaver to connect them with income and leverage their skills, especially in the IT sector. and digital.”
Hedren said that while the war in Ukraine was the catalyst for the birth of Unlimited Opportunity, the long-term goal is for it to be self-sustaining and support those displaced from several other countries. each other, such as Syria or Venezuela.
“From this point on, the goal is to really grow this program into a program that is globally viable and highly applicable to people who have fled other parts of the world in conflict with them, ‘ Hedren said. “Obviously we’ve focused a lot on Ukraine, and the scope of the crisis there is really remarkable and moving very quickly. About 8 million people are internally displaced in Ukraine and about 5 million have crossed the border we think. Hopefully, in most cases, temporarily leave Ukraine. So the scope of that is amazing, and to be honest, we know we won’t be able to help everyone or help solve this problem for everyone. “
