"It’s skill development in both ways": IKEA renews its commitment to refugees

Over the last 80 years, IKEA has built a strong reputation in the home furnishing industry, but their commitment to innovation and change extends far beyond the comfort of homes.

For many years now, IKEA organisations such as IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, the Inter IKEA Group and the Ingka Group have been working with UNHCR and refugees to help those forced to flee integrate into their new communities. While external discussions can sometimes focus on sharing the “burden” of helping refugees, IKEA looked beyond the immediate challenge and saw the opportunities.

Through a holistic approach, including providing language, childcare, and mental health support, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, the Inter IKEA Group and the Ingka Group have been employing refugees, helping them integrate into their new communities and build both a life and a career in their new homes. And the results have been incredible – for both refugees and the business.

Zeynab Noori, a participant in their refugee employment programme, was forced to flee Afghanistan with her family and settled in Australia in 2018. She spent two years after her arrival job hunting until she was offered a paid work placement at IKEA. The placement led to ongoing stable employment with the company. "It made a huge difference in my confidence, how I presented myself in the society and how I talk to people," she explained. "Having my own source of income, I feel I'm standing on my own two feet".

One of the initiatives they run sees them working with 15 socially inclusive companies that are looking to employ and develop the skills of refugees. Through this project, not only are they supporting refugees to be self-reliant but they are supporting the companies who share the core values that IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, the Inter IKEA Group and the Ingka Group hold.

Another initiative involves a partnership with the Jordan River Foundation to create long-term employment for 400 refugee and local artisans, producing textiles for IKEA products. Through this project, IKEA is supporting refugees and host communities to thrive, providing a stable source of income, especially for women. But this is not a charitable endeavour - “It’s skill development in both ways”, Lars-Erik Fridolfsson of the Inter IKEA Group explained, “We learn also from the ones working with these textile products.”

As IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, the Inter IKEA Group and the Ingka Group renew their commitment to UNHCR and helping refugees integrate through work, they are calling on other businesses to join in offering opportunities to people forced to flee. The challenges facing the world require innovative solutions, and the private sector, with companies like these leading the way, is providing some.