IKEA: supporting forcibly displaced talent

In September 2015, just months after Breaking Barriers’ mission began, the world was confronted with a harrowing image. That of toddler Aylan Kurdi, a Syrian refugee, whose body had been washed ashore on a Turkish beach. Published around the world, the heartbreaking photo brought home the tragic cost of the heightening refugee crisis. 

By the end of 2015 it was reported that more than 910,000 displaced people had arrived in Europe, with some 3550 lives lost on the way. In the months that followed, IKEA began to formulate a plan for supporting refugees.  

“We quickly realised that meaningful employment was the way to really help someone integrate into society, unlock their potential, and provide for the whole family,” explains Hiliary Jenkins, Sustainability Business Partner at IKEA UK & Ireland. This is how the global retailer came to work with Breaking Barriers.  

In 2017, IKEA joined forces with us to launch a pilot programme to improve employment prospects for forcibly displaced people in the UK. The programme was a customer services employment pathway that was run in the retailer’s Tottenham, Croydon, Wembley and Greenwich stores.  

By 2021, more than 150 refugees had received tailored education courses through the programme, 70 had attended bespoke assessment centres, and 29 had gained permanent jobs. This included our client Samer, who began working at IKEA in 2017. The success of the pilot cemented IKEA’s global commitment to hire refugees in all its operating countries and has since been replicated many times over.  

Fast forward to last year, when our partnership with IKEA saw 10 clients start customer services work placements in the retailer’s Manchester branch. Through the programme, seven were offered permanent positions at IKEA – including Thomas – and the other three went on to secure roles in other retail settings.  

“The partnership with Breaking Barriers has been vital to what we do and vital to our global platform,” says Hiliary.  

Watch Hiliary’s full interview, in which she discusses Breaking Barriers’ impact on IKEA’s global commitment to forcibly displaced people, and the role that strategic partnerships play in the future sustainability of charities.