The Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent) – a global network of companies committed to the labour market integration of refugees – commemorated today the launch of Tent UK by opening the London Stock Exchange. 

Tent UK is a new coalition of major businesses committed to helping refugees secure employment. 70 leading brands with operations in the UK - including the London Stock Exchange Group, Co-op, Estée Lauder Companies, Marriott International, Philips, Pret A Manger, Uniqlo, and Virgin - have come together, united in their resolve to connect refugees living in the UK to work. 

Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Tent and founder and CEO of Chobani, was joined by the CEO of Tent, Gideon Maltz, as well as representatives from a number of Tent UK’s inaugural member companies to open the markets. 

The UK currently hosts over 500,000 refugees with approximately half hailing from Ukraine and the remaining half from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Hong Kong, Iran, Syria, and elsewhere. While they have the legal right to work, refugees are over 20% less likely to be employed than Brits, with this gap widening to 30% for refugee women, according to the UK government. At the same time, the UK is experiencing severe labour shortages, with almost one million job vacancies across key industries such as hospitality, food services, manufacturing, and healthcare. 

“At a moment when UK employers face significant labour shortages, yet refugees across the country struggle to find decent employment, we see an extraordinary opportunity for our work,” said Gideon Maltz, CEO of Tent. “The coalition of companies that has come together to launch Tent UK understands that we need to act at scale to help hundreds of thousands of refugees in the UK secure jobs, rebuild their lives, and integrate into their new communities. Tent is uniquely placed and ready to help companies develop ambitious programmes to include refugees.”

Tent UK will offer participating companies a host of services including: tailored resources and localized trainings for HR teams; the sharing of best practices and ideas distilled from Tent’s global network of over 400 companies across a dozen countries who are hiring and integrating refugees into their workforces; regular convenings and workshops with member companies for peer-to-peer learning; and introductions to best-in-class partners across the UK that can source refugee talent. Tent is free of charge for participating companies.

With this moment marking Tent UK’s kick-off, Tent encourages many more companies to get involved, join the coalition, and start their refugee inclusion efforts. Companies can learn more and get in touch at www.tent.org/UK.