Employment projects funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through KFW-German Development Bank, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and United Work carry out job placement projects for refugees and host community members in Istanbul. During the project, United Work assists employers and job seekers to match their needs, places refugees and affected host communities members who have job prospects in skilled, labor-intensive projects, in jobs through support with applying for work permits, counseling and providing wages for the first two months.
Mhmad Alothen is a 33-year-old refugee from Damascus, Syria. He came to Turkey in 2015. He lives in Istanbul, but his family is still living in Syria. So, he is currently taking care of his family. Mohamad had a work experience in textile sales in Syria. He worked for several international textile brands there. Currently, he is working in a hotel as a barista. He likes his job and feels enthusiastic about his career.
At the beginning of Mohamad’s carrier journey in Turkey, he could not find a suitable job for himself in the textile retail sector because of the language barrier he was facing. Thus, he started to work in various cafes, which helped him learn and improve his TurkishNowadays Mohamad can speak Turkish clearly. After gaining some experience, Mohamad started working in restaurants.
Mohamad mentioned that Covid-19 affected his life. “After Covid-19 reached Turkey, I had to change my work and I started to apply for different jobs. So, I sent my to the United Work team. Followingly, they arranged an interview with the hotel management. After the interviews, I got accepted here in the restaurant department,” he said.
Covid-19 has affected all job markets in the world. It has also raised a financial crisis for both employers and employees. Mostly, employees are looking for jobs to improve their skills. “I hope to improve myself in the hotel and tourism sector and I look forward for better positions in this hotel and in the tourism sector. Many people can do my job, but I have ambitions to get promoted to better positions. Currently, I am facing some financial problems because of the Covid-19 economic recession, but I am trying to solve these problems with my new job.