Skilled worker visas for refugees – a qualitative evaluation of the UK’s Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot

RSC Public Seminar Series, Trinity term 2024

Series convened by Professor Naohiko Omata and Professor Tom Scott-Smith

This seminar will present findings from the report ‘Skilled Worker Visas for Refugees: An Evaluation of the UK's Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot (DTMP)’, by Nour Moussa and Olivier Sterck.

There has been growing recognition of labour migration as a complementary solution for refugees and displaced people in recent years. Several pilots and programmes have emerged to match displaced people in the Global South with employers in the Global North in need of their skills and then facilitate their movement to these countries. One such example is the Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot (DTMP) announced in July 2021 by the Home Office, in partnership with the charity Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB).

TBB was established in 2016 out of the simple idea that displaced people have skills and talents, and can positively contribute to companies and communities globally when barriers to their mobility are removed. TBB uses the Talent Catalog, with over 100,000 registered people, to match skilled people in displacement with public-service providers or private companies and then works with employers, governments, and civil society to facilitate displaced people’s migration.

The DTMP was launched in October 2021 and the first candidate arrived in the UK in December 2021. Initially, the DTMP aimed to move 50–100 displaced persons and their family members from Jordan and Lebanon to the UK as skilled migrants in non-healthcare roles by the end of October 2023. The pilot has since been extended until 1 November 2024. Utilising the Skilled Worker migration route, it will continue to provide a pathway for up to 200 skilled displaced people to come to the UK. Refugees and displaced people of any nationality or location are now eligible to benefit from the Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot. This report assesses the achievements, impacts, and sustainability of the DTMP. It draws on qualitative research, including interviews with individuals who moved through the pilot, as well as staff from employing organisations, TBB, the Home Office, and partner organisations.

The seminar will be followed by drinks in the Hall.

Registration not required.

All enquiries should be directed to rsc-outreach@qeh.ox.ac.uk.

Download the seminar series poster for Trinity term 2024.