American call center firm Sitel has teamed up with the BPO association in Colombia, BPrO, to offer employment opportunities to thousands of Venezuelans living as refugees in the Andean country.
Miami, Florida-based BPO provider has claimed in a press release that it has already taken on board 500 refugees over the past three years and that it would soon hire 300 more Venezuelans.
Given the devastating and deepening economic crisis in the country, millions of Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries like Brazil, Peru and Colombia. Today, nearly 15% of Venezuelans are living the life of a refugee in a foreign country.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the refugee crisis in Venezuela, and we’re proud to be able to do our part for many of these immigrants,” stated Eduardo Endo, the country manager for Sitel in Colombia.
Eight other BPO firms have also joined hands with Sitel, but there are no further details about them yet. It seems the BPO firms were brought together by Tent, a non-profit launched in 2016 specifically to encourage corporate firms to hire refugees.
“Integrating refugees into a company’s workforce isn’t just good for society – refugees are hard-working, motivated employees who tend to stay longer with their employers,” stated Yaron Schwartz, Head of Impact Sourcing at the Tent Partnership for Refugees.
Not just refugees, Sitel says it has even offered employment to people who lost their jobs during the pandemic. Moreover, the BPO provider has also offered to teach English for free in order to help them land a job in other industries.