The program, which began in 2021 providing eight-week paid work placements for refugees and asylum seekers, will now offer secure and ongoing employment opportunities.

Initially, participants received a two-month paid placement to help overcome the employment barriers that come with settling in a new country by providing Australian work experience, skills training and a reference for future employment.

To date, 80 per cent of the 160 program participants across Australia have secured ongoing employment with IKEA, which has supported the decision to make the program permanent.

Carmen Garcia, founder and CEO of Community Corporate and InDaily 40 Under 40 alumnus, said it has been a privilege to co-design and deliver the program and be part of the next era of IKEA’s commitment to hiring refugees into the business.

“The level of commitment from IKEA across the entire business has been visible through the amount of engagement, participation, care and consultation they have provided,” Garcia said.

“This has been critical to our success to date as the lead national partner in opening doors to opportunities for refugees to join the team.”

Harriet Pope, IKEA Australia’s refugee workforce inclusion leader said, “We are thrilled to be evolving the Refugee Workforce Inclusion program to enable refugees and people seeking asylum to secure stable and meaningful career pathways with IKEA Australia.

“The program to date has demonstrated the mutual benefits of supporting refugees to enter the Australian workforce, including increased employee engagement and pride in an inclusive culture, greater cross-cultural competence, new mentorship skills and deeper cultural connections leading to better customer experience.

“Through this values-based investment, IKEA has been able to access a new talent pipeline of motivated and adaptable staff members – a real advantage in a tight labour market.”

With demonstrated positive results, IKEA is now urging other organisations to join the program and start providing employment opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers.

“We believe employers have an important role to play in actively welcoming refugees and asylum seekers because, by seeing their talent and potential, strong mutual benefits can be realised for individuals, businesses and communities,” Pope said.

“We want to change the narrative about how society views people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds by challenging perceptions and seeing people for who they are and the value they bring – not their stereotypes.”