Hiring & Training

In 2022, IKEA committed to offering internships to 90 refugees in the Netherlands over two years. Via its Skills for Employment program, IKEA has already offered internships to 60 refugees in the Netherlands, providing them with work experience and language training to better integrate into the labor market.

Ingka Group (IKEA retail) committed to supporting at least 2,500 refugees through job training and language skills initiatives in 300 IKEA stores in 30 countries by 2022. Once refugees have completed these programs at IKEA stores, they will be encouraged to apply for open positions. Ingka does this because it is the right thing to do but also because it makes business sense.

In Canada, IKEA has launched a national refugee employment initiative to help refugees join the workforce, develop new skills and integrate into communities across the country. As part of this initiative, IKEA Canada will hire 250 refugees within three years.

IKEA is part of Tent U.S., Tent Canada, Tent España, Tent France, and Tent UK, exploring opportunities to help refugees enter the labor market in these five countries, including through employment or job preparation.

Mentorship

Ikea is mentoring refugee women in France as part of Tent’s Mentorship Initiative.

Supply Chain

In Jordan, IKEA committed to providing employment opportunities through its supply chain for both refugees and their host communities. IKEA suppliers employ Jordanian and refugee women at their production center to make hand-woven rugs, textiles and other products. IKEA started by employing 200 refugees and Jordanians and selling their artisan products in the IKEA store in Jordan, and then expanded to selling these products in the Middle East and in other global stores.

IKEA then committed to selling even more of the IKEA textile collections that it sources from Jordan made by refugee and local Jordanian women. In 2019, Ingka sold these products in 5 countries, and will scale to 30. This will increase the number of refugees and local Jordanian women IKEA employs in Jordan, from 250 in 2019 to 400 in 2022.

Financial Donation

The IKEA Foundation committed to continuing its support of programs and partners aimed at strengthening the resilience of refugee communities and creating livelihood opportunities for refugee and host populations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Jordan.

The IKEA Foundation also committed to providing another 100 million EUR in grants over the next five years for programs that help refugees to improve their incomes and become more self-reliant. In 2020 the foundation committed to providing an additional 100 million EUR in grants over the next five years.