85,000 refugees to receive job assistance from Adecco by 2027

ZURICH (Reuters) -Adecco Group will help 85,000 refugees to find jobs and train 17,000 people by the end of 2027, the Swiss recruitment company said on Wednesday, raising its ambition from a previous target.

The number of refugees in European countries rose to 12.4 million at the end of 2022 from 7 million at the end of 2021 as refugees from Ukraine sought safety in nearby countries, according to data from the UN's refugee agency.

"No one chooses to be a refugee. We strongly believe that work is not just a source of income, but a first, important step for rebuilding a life, integrating in a new country and finding a place in society again," Christoph Catoir, the head of the company's Adecco general staffing business, said.

The new pledge, which includes setting up a dedicated website to help refugees find jobs, follows on from a promise Adecco made in June 2023, when it said it wanted to find jobs for 50,000 refugees and provide technical and language training for 10,000.

Adecco has already joined a scheme in Germany to help employ 10,000 refugees there by the end of 2025.

Its latest initiative aims to tackle problems such as language skills, transportation issues, a lack of childcare, as well as inadequate social and professional networks.

"With Adecco’s help, tens of thousands of refugees - from Ukraine and elsewhere - will find a job allowing them to provide for themselves and their families," said Gideon Maltz, from the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a group of more than 350 companies committed to integrating refugees.

(Reporting by John Revill, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Barbara Lewis)