Over 30 Companies Come Together to Launch Tent España, A New Coalition of Companies Connecting Refugees to Work in Spain

• Major businesses including BBVA, FCC Medio Ambiente, L’Oréal Group, and Marriott International join forces to advance the economic integration of refugees in Spain
• Tent España coalition officially launches on November 7 at an event co-organized by the Tent Partnership for Refugees and the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration

Madrid, November 7, 2023 – The Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent) – a global network of companies committed to the economic integration of refugees – is announcing the launch of Tent España, a coalition of over 30 major companies in Spain helping refugees enter the Spanish labor market through job preparation and employment. 

Spain currently hosts more than 300,000 refugees and 130,000 asylum seekers hailing from Ukraine, Venezuela, and Syria, among others. Despite labor shortages across key industries such as hospitality, construction, and engineering, few refugees are formally employed. In Spain, refugees face numerous barriers to formal employment, such as lower language proficiency, transportation issues, lack of childcare options, as well as a lack of social and professional networks. Businesses have a pivotal role to play in addressing these barriers and hiring refugees. 

The 33 companies in Tent España span a range of sectors and are as follows: Accenture, Adecco Group, Alsea, Amazon, BBVA, Deloitte, Dow Jones, FCC Medio Ambiente, Ferrer, Globant, Hempel, Hilton, Ignis, IHG Hotels & Resorts, IKEA, Inditex, ISS, KFC, L’Oréal Group, ManpowerGroup, Marriott International, McDonald’s, Menzies Aviation, ORPEA, Pfizer, Randstad, Roca, Sanofi, Schindler, Serveo, Sodexo, Teleperformance, and The Body Shop.

“With more crises around the world bringing more refugees to Spain, businesses have both the responsibility and opportunity to integrate refugees into their workforce,” said Gideon Maltz, CEO of Tent. “The efforts of the companies joining Tent España today will have a long-lasting impact, both on the refugees and the companies themselves. Our research shows that businesses hiring refugees reap numerous benefits, including higher retention rates, increased employee engagement, and positive brand perception.” 

“What every company joining Tent España today shares is the understanding that a job is the most critical milestone as a refugee seeks to rebuild their life, as well as the win-win of hiring refugees,” said Amaia Elizalde, Director for Spain at Tent.  “As these companies kickstart or scale up their refugee hiring efforts, Tent España is here to help make the process as easy and effective as possible.”

Tent España will offer participating companies a host of services free of charge including: resources and trainings for HR teams; the sharing of best practices and ideas, distilled from Tent’s global network of companies and tailored to the Spanish context; regular convenings and workshops with other Tent España member companies for peer-to-peer learning; and introductions to best-in-class partners that can connect companies to refugee talent.

A study published by Tent earlier this year revealed that people in Spain across all age groups and political views are substantially more likely to buy from a company hiring refugees  – with 65% of Spanish respondents saying they would be more likely to do so. This is the highest percentage recorded among the seven European countries surveyed.

Tent and the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration recently signed a General protocol of actions to advance refugees’ integration in the formal labor market in Spain. Tent España is officially launched today at a high-profile event co-hosted by the Ministry and Tent.

“We must be able to humanize organizations by empathizing with the suffering of other people, which is what makes us human above all else. At FCC Medio Ambiente this is part of our core values, and one of the ways we put it into practice is by facilitating the inclusion of refugees in our workforce. Our team is delighted to join Tent España and the other companies in the coalition to ensure that more refugees have the opportunity to find life-changing work in Spain,” said Luis Suárez Zarcos, HR Director at FCC Medio Ambiente.

Tent España is Tent’s first national coalition to launch in Europe, adding to existing coalitions in the United States and Canada. 

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About the Tent Partnership for Refugees

With more and more refugees displaced around the world, businesses have a critical role to play in helping refugees integrate economically in their new communities. Tent was launched in 2016 by Hamdi Ulukaya, the CEO and founder of Chobani – a multibillion dollar food company in the U.S. – to mobilize global businesses to fill this gap. Today, Tent is a network of over 350 major companies committed to helping hundreds of thousands of refugees access local labor markets by helping them become job-ready and connecting them to work. Find out more at www.tent.org.