Florianópolis – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) yesterday (25/07) held a workshop in Florianópolis, southern Brazil, which focused on the implementation of labour inclusion of vulnerable migrants of different nationalities within the private sector.  

The workshop addressed myths, answered practical doubts about the documentation and hiring process as well as highlighted benefits and the importance of diversity and inclusion in the development of corporate strategies. 

The event is part of a new round of workshops organized by IOM, launched in Curitiba earlier in July, and will be held in other states across the country. The first event took place as part of the Business Forum on Socio-Economic Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees, which was attended by over 80 people. 

In Brazil, there are about 1.4 million international migrants recognized by the government, and Santa Catarina is the fifth state where most of this population live. Relevant figures show the importance of raising awareness within the labour market in the state to the inclusion of migrants and in the retention of these talents. In order to illustrate this, Brazilian company JBS shared best practices on hiring. 

JBS’s Human Resources Coordinator in Itapiranga (SC), Teresinha Blasczak, shared the experience of hiring Venezuelans. “It has been a very positive experience not only in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility but also in the opportunity of knowledge sharing. These people helped us a lot in the company, responding to our needs. They come with a good education background and they are restarting their lives. Many of them are engineers, lawyers, accountants, who are now on the production line but are looking forward to growing. We learn a lot from them, and they are also very grateful for the opportunity they have,” explained Blasczak. 

This is the second edition of a series of workshops launched last December by IOM Brazil, with support from the IOM Development Fund (IDF). The workshops were designed based on the results of an IOM survey, in partnership with the UN Global Compact for Business and Human Rights.  

In the first series of workshops, over 60 companies were trained in the cities of Boa Vista, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The IOM project foresees the organization of at least five more workshops in the coming months. 

This activity was possible with the financial support of the Government of the Netherlands. 

For more information, please contact Juliana Hack, IOM Brasilia, Tel: + 55 61 3771 3772 Email: jhack@iom.int