What Could Transform the Global Refugee Crisis in 2017? Jobs.

The past two years have been a time of unprecedented crisis for refugees. As we look ahead, 2017 will be make-or-break for developing a model of getting refugees into jobs: the best foundation for addressing their humanitarian needs. And remember more than 80 percent of refugees are in low and middle income countries in Africa and the Middle East rather than in Europe and North America. 

It is clear that with 25 million refugees and asylum-seekers around the world—and less than one percent going home as wars in Syria, Somalia and South Sudan burn on—there needs to be an economic livelihoods solution as well as a social service element to support refugees. 

By getting jobs, refugees can not only meet their basic needs but also contribute to the countries in which they end up. For example, in Uganda, which has over half a million refugees, high employment goes with long-term sustainability. Now the case needs to be proven in more developed economies.

The International Rescue Committee is working in Jordan, which hosts more than 650,000 Syrians, to pioneer a new model of supporting refugees to get into work. We are supporting Jordanian firms to take advantage of zero-tariff access to European markets for which they’re eligible if they employ refugees as at least 15% of their workforce. 

There is a need here not just for the public sector and NGOs—we need the private sector, too, to help empower refugees to build a better future for themselves and their families.

This article is part of the LinkedIn Top Voices list, a collection of the must-read writers of the year. Check out more #BigIdeas2017 here.