Yojoa

Young refugees who come to Switzerland face significant barriers when trying to enter the job market, especially if they arrive as unaccompanied minors. The employment rate for persons with such a background is less than 50% despite the Swiss labor market facing a severe shortage of skilled labour.
The Geneva-based initiative Youth Job Accelerator (Yojoa) is addressing this situation with a two-pronged approach: The organisation helps young refugees and other disadvantaged youth into the job market and at the same time supports companies in utilizing the benefits of following a hiring strategy open towards inclusion and diversity. Yojoas’s stated goal is to contribute to a paradigm shift that recognizes diversity not as a problem but rather as part of the solution.
With the help of DROSOS FOUNDATION, Yojoa plans to stabilize its operations and prepare an expansion into other regions of the Romandie. Furthermore, it aims to partner with other key actors to further enhance the inclusion of refugees and migrants into Swiss-based companies and organisations.