Hire skilled refugees
Employers and recruiters can find skilled refugees through the Global Refugee Network (GRN). You join as a partner, search anonymised profiles by skills and experience, and ask to see the full profiles of the people you want to talk to. Each refugee decides whether to share theirs.
How hiring through GRN works
Join GRN as a partner
Apply online. Employers and recruiters join as service providers. We check who you are and how you recruit, and you renew every 12 months. Partners pay a software licence.
Describe who you need
Start from a job, or describe the experience you need in your own words. AI matching finds people with those skills and people whose experience means something similar, then explains why each one fits.
Search anonymised profiles
You see skills, qualifications, experience, languages and the country each person is in. You never see a name or contact details at this stage.
Ask to see a full profile
Send a request for the people you want to talk to. Each person decides whether to share their full profile with you, and every decision is recorded.
Hire
Hire locally, or bring someone from another country through a skilled migration pathway. Labour mobility organisations such as Talent Beyond Boundaries can help with visas and relocation.
Who you'll find
Refugees with skills, qualifications and experience, looking for work that uses them.
- Anyone can register, wherever they are: still at home but at risk, in a displacement camp, or already resettled and looking for work that matches their skills.
- They can have any visa status, including a humanitarian visa, a skilled work visa, or no clear pathway yet.
- Each person records their skills, qualifications, experience and goals once, in their own words, and keeps them up to date.
What we ask of employers
Refugees can be exploited in recruitment. These checks protect them and the employers who hire fairly.
- You affirm the GRN Principles and the GRN Code of Conduct.
- You never charge refugees for access to GRN or for a referral through it.
- You follow the Employer Pays Principle and the ILO General Principles for Fair Recruitment, so workers never pay recruitment fees or costs.
- You give a sample contract and job offer in a language the worker understands, and comply with labour law in each country you hire into.
- If you place people with other employers, you also hold IOM IRIS certification or a recruiter licence. Employers hiring for themselves don’t need one.
Is GRN right for you?
- A good fit
- You want skilled people, judge them on what they can do, and are open to candidates whose experience was gained in another country. You may also be ready to sponsor a visa.
- Not a fit
- You want candidates screened and placed for you, or a recruitment model where workers pay any fee or cost.
Questions employers ask
- Can employers use the Global Refugee Network to hire refugees?
- Yes. Employers and recruiters join GRN as partners, search anonymised profiles of refugees with the skills they need, and ask to see a full profile. The refugee decides whether to share it.
- Do refugees pay to be found by employers on GRN?
- No. Refugees register for free, and partners may never charge them for access to GRN or for a referral through it. Recruiters must follow the Employer Pays Principle, so workers never pay recruitment fees.
- Does it cost anything to use GRN?
- Partners pay a software licence. Open Pathway Collective shares the cost of maintaining GRN fairly across the organisations that use it. Refugees never pay.
- Can we hire refugees who already live in our country?
- Yes. GRN is open to refugees wherever they are and whatever their visa status, including people already resettled who want work that matches their skills.
- Does GRN screen or place candidates for us?
- No. GRN is a platform, not a recruitment agency. You search, shortlist, interview and hire. We check partners before they join, and the refugee controls who sees their full profile.
- Do we need our own technical team to use GRN?
- No. Partners use GRN through the web. If you want to connect your own systems, our team can help.
Start hiring
Apply to join GRN as a partner, or email info@openpathwaycollective.org to talk it through first.
Last reviewed October 2026.