I am looking for work

Refugee Talent Hub brings employers and refugees together with one goal: increasing your chance to find a paid job.

Many refugees in the Netherlands are eager to start working, yet find it difficult to find a paid job. This has various reasons. Diplomas do not match the Dutch labour market, language is often an issue and work experience or competencies are not always valued correctly. Additionally, prejudices are often in play. But perhaps most importantly: if you are new in The Netherlands, you often have a small network.

That is a pity, we believe at Refugee Talent Hub. After all, work is about more than just making money. Having a job also means structure and social contacts - and it gives you the feeling of being needed and belonging. Moreover, using your talent, knowledge and craftsmanship is in the interest of yourself, the employer and society. In other words, for the sake of all of us.

That is why Refugee Talent Hub - an employer initiative - brings you together with employers. Because a job opportunity starts with a meeting.

Refugee Talent Hub organizes company visits, trainings, courses, work experience programes and other work-related activities. All to increase your chance to find a paid job.

You can find the complete range of our Dutch and English-speaking events here. Our activities are informal, practical and take place in the workplace. We work closely with employers who are looking for interesting candidates and with civil society organizations such as the Council for Refugees and the Foundation for Refugee Students UAF. You can find our activities throughout the Netherlands, from Amsterdam to Arnhem.

Read more below and come and join us!

What we offer:

  • Workshops

During our workshops, you work together with an employer and other refugees on your professional skills. Options include taking a LinkedIn workshop, job application training or building a website. This is an accessible way for employers to get to know you and to see whether you might fit with the organization.

  • Meet-and-Greets

This is all about a personal meeting with one or more employers. We meet with a small group (around five to ten people) or organize a large event (with about a hundred people). Our meet-and-greets are informal and practical: they are all about doing something together. So we break a business case with financial service providers, we bake bread with bakers and we drill and tinker with a technical installation company.

  • Training

In a crash course of several weeks or months, you will learn useful skills such as programming or dealing with popular control programs. These "classes" increase your job prospects and help participating employers to recruit interesting candidates.

  • Internal training programs

During this program you receive short, internal training from an employer that suits you well. After successfully completing this training, you immediately start working for the employer (a paid job).

  • Mentor programmes

If you participate in a mentor program, it means that we connect you with a mentor, an employee of one of our partner organizations. During the period of your mentor program, you work together towards a concrete, work-related goal and you exchange knowledge, network and experiences.

Are you a refugee and do you want to increase your chances of finding a job? Register quickly for one of our activities or sign up for our newsletter. That way you stay informed about our activities and the activities of our social partners. This way, we can also reach you when employers are looking for candidates.

You can also find our activities on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Do you have any questions? Do not hesitate and contact us directly contact.

PS in preparation for your meeting with employers, it is useful to:

  • Have your CV ready;
  • Have your diploma evaluated. Credential evaluation makes it easy for employers to gain insight into your education. More information can be found here;
  • Work on your language. Need tips? You can find it here.

Employer information

Refugee Talent Hub is an employer-led initiative, by employers, for employers. In collaboration with employers, we organise activities for refugees in the workplace, with paid employment as our main goal. You can find more information about our approach here. All activities are tailored to meet the specific needs of employers. You can find the current offerings of our activities here.

Many employers struggle with practical questions about working with refugees. What about the laws and regulations? Where do you start when you want to hire someone? And what guidance is actually needed?

Answers to these and other questions can be found in our practical guide for employers (in Dutch), produced by Refugee Talent Hub and our civil society partner Tent Partnership for Refugees.

You can also consult this roadmap (in Dutch) from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment about regulations or check out our fact sheet about working with employees with a refugee background.

Together with affiliated partners, Refugee Talent Hub organises practical and targeted activities that lead refugees to paid work. During our activities, the personal meeting is crucial. A great way to get to know candidates personally and to look beyond CVs. All activities are tailor-made and in line with the specific wishes of the partneremployer.

Our activities include:

  • Workshop

During our workshops together with refugees, you work on their professional skills. For example, you can provide a LinkedIn training, interview seminar, or course about building websites. This is an accessible way to get acquainted with job-seeking refugees.

  • Meet-and-greet

This acitivity is centred around the personal meeting with a group of job-seeking refugees and suitable for recruitment. We meet in a small group (with five people or more) or organise a large event (with about a hundred people). Our meet-and-greets are informal, practical and centred around doing something together. We work on a business case with financial service providers, we dive into the kitchen at restaurants and we pick up drills and other tools with technical companies.

  • Training

In a crashcourse of various weeks or months, you, as an employer, teach a group of refugees skills such as programming or dealing with control programmes. These "classes" help the participating employers to recruit interesting candidates.

  • Internal trainingprogramme

During this programme the employer trains job-seeking refugees through its own in-house course. After completing this training successfully, the candidates are ready to start working immediately at your company.

  • Mentor programme

During this programme, employees are matched with with a refugee-mentee. During this period you work together towards a clear, work-related goal and you exchange knowledge, network and experiences.

Our current activities can be found here.

Refugee Talent Hub also supports employers in strengthening internal support for diversity in the workplace in general and working with refugees in particular. Refugee Talent Hub also maintains a wide network of like-minded employers and it is possible to share knowledge about issues that employers encounter in practice.

Would you like to know more or are you part of our network? Get in touch with our team.

In addition to partnerships, Refugee Talent Hub also welcomes one-off donations and in-kind contributions. If you wish to discuss the possibilities, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Refugee Talent Hub is an ANBI (Public Benefit Organization) which means donations are tax deductible.

About us

We are Refugee Talent Hub, an employer initiative that brings refugees and employers together with paid jobs as the goal.

Many refugees in the Netherlands are eager to find work. However, not everyone is able to find a job. When you are new, you often have a small network and it is difficult to meet prospective employers. On the other side, many employers would like to use the talent and craftsmanship of refugees, but are unable to find them. A joint network is missing.

That is why Refugee Talent Hub was founded in 2016. We bring affiliated employers into contact with job-seeking refugees through small-scale, customized meetings. Because a job opportunity starts with a meeting.

This is in the interest of everyone - the refugee, the employer and society. Having a job contributes greatly to rapid integration and employers with a diverse workforce are more successful. In addition, a job is about more than just making money. For refugees, having a job also means structure, social contacts and gives a sense of being needed and of belonging.

At Refugee Talent Hub we work with customized meetings that foster personal contact, which helps to get to know each other - and is a necessary step towards a fruitful collaboration. Our meetings consist of company visits, work experience programs and other work-related activities. All of our events happen in the workplace and are small-scale, practical and efficient. You can find the complete range of our Dutch and English-speaking events here.

Our way of working is based on our Hub concept. We connect knowledge, experience and contacts of a large network of employers, refugees and social organisations. We do this, among other things, by stimulating the exchange of knowledge between employers and by working closely with civil society organizations such as VluchtelingenwerkNederland, the New Dutch Connections, NewBees and UAF, the foundation for refugee students.

The idea of our Hub descends from consultancy firm Accenture. The company presented the idea at the annual World Economic Forum in 2016, after which Refugee Talent Hub was launched the same year. The organisation has now grown into an independent foundation with a large network of committed employers and refugee talents. As co-founder and corporate partner, Accenture is still closely involved in the activities of Refugee Talent Hub.

Eva Huson Senior partnershipmanager
Salar Ashari Fotograaf / Sociale media /Back office
Wilma Roozenboom Directeur
Batsheba White Senior partnershipmanager
Lana Savic Partnershipmanager
Valérie van de Luitgaarden Coördinator Projecten en Programma Team
Samina Ahmed Programmamanager
Jan-Simon Rotgans Senior partnershipmanager
Ria Yetsenga Communicatie
Sabine de Frémery Senior partnershipmanager
Naiem Zayeri Programmamanager
Mirthe van Pelt Programmamanager (Accenture)
Houda Zaït Partnershipmanager
Amir Tavoosi Cross-Cultural workshop organizer (Accenture)
Meghelina Moesker Programmamanager (Rabobank)
Dennis Aarnink Programmamanager & communicatie
Jeroen Kerkvliet Programmamanager (Rabobank)
Michelle Hendriks Programmamanager (Rabobank)
Juliet van Vliet Programmamanager (Accenture)
‘Ik heb al zoveel ambitieuze, veerkrachtige en leergierige vluchtelingtalenten mogen ontmoeten dat ik me met volle overtuiging inzet om vluchtelingtalenten in te zetten in het bedrijfsleven’
— Manon van Beek
‘Vluchtelingtalenten zijn een verrijking voor de arbeidsmarkt en ik ervaar het als zeer waardevol dat ik mijn kennis en ervaring mag inzetten in mijn bestuursfunctie bij de Refugee Talent Hub.’
— Charlotte van Thienen
‘Er zit volop talent in de groep mensen die nieuw in Nederland is aangekomen’
— Harm Albert Zanting
‘De Refugee Talent Hub biedt vluchtelingen perspectief en versnelde integratie door werk en werkgevers toegang tot gedreven medewerkers met enorme veerkracht, een prachtige win-win situatie’
— Nynke Jansen
‘De rol van bestuurslid bij de Refugee Talent Hub past goed bij mij en bij wat ik wil teruggeven aan de maatschappij’
— Zina Agovic