Innovating to advance digital employment pathways
In Tunisia, UNHCR is working to unlock the potential of refugees and foster resilience and self-reliance
By Rasem Draou, Associate Coordination and Support Officer, and Yousef Taha, Interagency Coordination Associate
Digital has rapidly become a new development factor affecting all spheres of society, with an increased use of technological tools for education, a proliferation of online training and job platforms, and rapidly expanding digitally powered economic opportunities in local and global markets. However, many fall through the cracks created by the digital divide (lack of access to digital technologies, skills, connectivity, and equipment) and are unable to access the many opportunities of the digital transformation. These opportunities can greatly benefit both forcibly displaced people and the communities hosting them — if barriers to safe engagement are effectively addressed.
In Tunisia, refugees and asylum seekers have repeatedly shown the world their ability to absorb and recover from the aftershocks of displacement, despite the serious challenges they face. Many of them endure perilous and life-threatening journeys — often walking hundreds of miles to reach safety. Upon arrival in the country, their resilience, adaptation, and strong will to rebuild their lives continue to prevail. At UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, we know digital technology and opportunities can help them to achieve their aspirations — particularly when it comes to accessing innovative education and work opportunities.
So, in Tunis, UNHCR established a collaboration with GoMyCode, a private-sector platform that provides digital skills training. Together, with the support of UNHCR’s Digital Innovation Fund, we’ve been working to empower refugees for the jobs of the future, and gaining valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of the digital economy.
New opportunities in Tunisia’s growing digital economy
The digital economy has become an important part of most countries’ national economies and policies. Refugees and asylum seekers are aware of all these multifaceted changes in the social and economic structures, and they have expressed a strong interest in pursuing trainings that could help them keep pace with these changes.
In line with UNHCR’s Digital Transformation Strategy, the project developed by UNHCR Tunisia builds on refugees’ digital skills and competencies to ensure more equitable access to digital technologies and to expand the opportunities available to them. While these opportunities are abundant, the learning-to-earning journey is not always linear. The collaboration with GoMyCode provides holistic support for refugees’ safe and accessible pre-work journey by raising awareness and interest, and ensuring access to the tools required to engage in the digital economy.
For many refugees participating in the pilot project, the training has been a beacon of hope. Some were eager to start the training as it would help build their profile for the purpose of completing an advanced university degree in this field, while others saw an opportunity to improve their social skills, work with others, and advance their English proficiency in technical terminology. Maymoun, a 22-year-old participant, said:
I was thrilled to take part in this opportunity and get this professional training with GoMyCode. As a writer and researcher, this experience will open new doors in my professional journey and broaden my access to new platforms and opportunities.
Developing in-demand skills
During the initial phase of the project, UNHCR launched a consultative process with refugees and asylum seekers to ensure the programme appropriately responded to their needs and that an adequate level of interest was expressed. In parallel, two courses were identified jointly with GoMyCode based on their high placement rate after graduation:
1 Web development: This programme gives trainees the tools to create their first website using HTML and CSS, working with GitHub and getting acquainted with the basics of JavaScript for a first professional experience in front-end web development, technical support, web project management, and so on.
2 Fullstack development: This programme allows students to delve into the world of web development at an advanced level. They master both front-end and back-end development, learn MERN stack, databases, and algorithms all in one go.
The skills acquired through these programmes are highly sought after, and empower refugees to engage competitively in an increasingly borderless digital economy benefitting all concerned actors. Aicha, a 16-year-old participant, said:
I am thankful to UNHCR for giving me the chance to delve into the world of web development. I not only learned valuable skills but also gained new perspectives for the future, and I am grateful for this unforgettable experience.
Challenges encountered and addressed
Through this experience, we learned how to address some of the practical challenges associated with interventions seeking to open up the possibilities of the global digital economy, and this learning process will inform future initiatives. These challenges included:
1 Communicating with communities: Since refugees are spread throughout Tunisia, living scattered across different areas, multiple communication tools were used to disseminate information about the project. Flyers were distributed in UNHCR’s reception and registration areas, posters were displayed at partners’ premises, and social media posts were also used to reach as many people as possible with the call for expressions of interest.
2 Encouraging diverse participation: In line with UNHCR’s Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) Policy, several efforts were made to ensure people from all kinds of demographics were able to participate in the project. The 50 participants represented more than 11 nationalities and included 13 women and girls (13), young people (8 minors), and members of the LGBTIQ+ community, as well as older persons. The profiling and selection included a thorough assessment of candidates’ profiles and a higher level of engagement with under-represented communities to disseminate the information — either through daily contact with refugees at UNHCR premises, or during shelter visits or focus group discussions — in order to align with the AGD approach.
3 Dismantling barriers to completion: Several steps were taken to address barriers that might affect participants’ ability to complete the course. A preliminary test was used to assess participants’ digital literacy levels and to ensure their enrolment in the most appropriate course. GoMyCode’s Hackerspace, the centre in which in-person courses are delivered, is also located in an ideal location and allows for easy access to refugees and asylum seekers. Moreover, UNHCR provided refugees further support by covering their transport costs on a monthly basis, covering their tuition fees and providing the IT equipment stationed at the Hackerspace. Discussions are ongoing with Sharek IT and GreenLab — two organizations providing IT equipment to the most disadvantaged groups in Tunisian society — to ensure current and future participants in this project have access to all the IT infrastructure required to complete their modules.
Learning-to-earning pathways
The pilot project has yielded positive results and great enthusiasm among refugees and asylum seekers. These participants are about to finish their courses, and are thrilled with the skills they have gained. However, one key learning from digital training interventions elsewhere in the world is that addressing the learning-to-earning gap is essential to ensuring that newly acquired skills can be converted into self-reliance.
So, at the end of November, in anticipation of the participants’ completion of their programmes, UNHCR and GoMyCode jointly organized a career orientation event to better facilitate the participants’ pathway from learning skills to gaining meaningful work experience.
The event provided participants with an overview of the opportunities available to new graduates, including through GoMyCode’s network of partners in the private sector seeking new talents in this field. Participants were coached in how to write and enhance their CVs, create and efficiently use a LinkedIn profile, and perform well in recruitment interviews.
Finally, Jalal, a 35-year-old Syrian refugee who has been engaging in digital work, shared his experience and provided insightful advice around how the participants could go about achieving their professional goals. Jalal reflected:
As a Syrian refugee in Tunisia, I decided to create my own opportunities by learning design and video motion by myself, and I am now working as a senior graphic designer. I was happy to share my personal experience with other refugees to show them that they can define their own path as well.
Students attending the session were thrilled to hear first-hand experience from a peer who could answer their questions relating to administrative and legal procedures, networking, business expansion, and so on. Jalal also encouraged the participants to get in touch once they had graduated, to help him develop new websites and provide other technical support for his projects.
Looking ahead
The project has been an invaluable experience for the refugees and asylum seekers who have participated so far, and UNHCR’s collaboration with GoMyCode is expected to further expand in the future to include many more learners. While this pilot has already taught us numerous lessons and led to significant improvements along the way, new best practices and lessons learned will certainly continue to arise and inform our approach, so that UNHCR is able to support refugees in accessing the highest quality digital skills and ensure they are able to safely take advantage of the opportunities available through the digital economy.
Whatever our innovations and commitments, it is the determination, hopes, and dreams of the communities we work with and for that will persist as the main driving forces behind their achievements in a world that, more than ever before, stands to benefit greatly from the skills and unique perspectives of refugees.
UNHCR has been exploring the opportunities and risks of online work for refugees through its PROSPECTS Partnership project with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and through Digital Innovation Fund pilots like this one. Stay tuned for further initiatives to expand refugees’ safe access to online work and new pathways to self-reliance in the global digital economy.
