The Globe and Mail - 13.09.2019

B4| REPORTONBUSINESS OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER13,

OPINION&ANALYSIS

DILBERT

T

he refugee crisis and its
global dimension contin-
ues as a major challenge for
the international community. In
our hemisphere alone, the Unit-
ed Nations estimates a staggering
5.4 million forcibly displaced Ve-
nezuelans by the end of 2019.
All of this serves as an urgent
reminder that intergovernmental
action is needed to address the
crisis, not just in our own neigh-
bourhood, but in other parts of
the globe where refugees contin-
ue to flood across borders.
While collective intergovern-
mental action is needed for long-
term solutions, there are impor-
tant ways for the business com-
munity to be engaged as an im-
portant companion to state ac-
tion.
Such private-sector initiatives
would help to foster commercial
activity and alleviate the appall-
ing poverty and stark future
faced both by refugees and the
countries, some of which are the
poorest in the world, forced to
shelter them.
Here are some ideas for a range
of private-sector responses to this
global crisis, each of which would
focus on releasing the untapped
potential of refugee communities
to what we see as a winning op-
portunity on three fronts – for
refugees, for host countries and
for the engaged private sector.

SETTINGPRIVATESTANDARDS

Over the past few years, a number
of international aid agencies
have assisted in the marketing of
refugee-made artisanal products.
We see the possibility of taking
that to the next level. Through
creative ingenuity, product stan-
dards and classifications could be

developed to give advantages to

more sophisticated refugee-man-

ufactured goods. For example,

large retailers – Walmart, Costco

and Home Depot come to mind –

could stock or offer items special-

ly designated or labelled as bona

fide refugee-made products.

While the consumer would

have to make purchasing deci-

sions, labelling goods as refugee-

made could be as commercially

significant as agovernmental

rule or tariff reduction for that

particular product.

CERTIFICATIONS

Private-body endorsements and

certifications could be applied in

the refugee context, in much the

same way as environmental and

fair-trade endorsements are used

in a whole gamut of consumer

goods. There are many examples.

A good one is fair-trade certifi-

cations covering a wide range of

products, including bananas,

honey, oranges, cocoa, coffee,

shortbread, cotton, dried and

fresh fruits and vegetables, juices,

nuts and oil seeds, quinoa, rice,

spices, sugar, tea and wine. In the

same category are the “green” en-

dorsements that certify environ-

mentally acceptable practices

and processes.

In the fashion industry, there

are certifications for clothing

made in safe, lawful, humane,

and ethical manufacturing

around the world. There is Better

Work, a partnership between the

UN’s International Labour Orga-

nization and the World Bank’s In-

ternational Finance Corp., which

sets guidelines to improve work-

ing conditions in developing

countries.

Why not a refugee-type certifi-

cation, an endorsement of goods

made responsibly and under the

right conditions by refugees liv-

ing in recognized communities?

BESTPRACTICES

Closely related are guidelines for

corporate practices that are wide-

ly accepted as standards of con-

duct in international commerce.

These include the UN Global

Compact, the Organization for

Economic Co-operation and De-

velopment’s guidelines for multi-

national companies, Business for

Social Responsibility (BSR) and

Business Social Compliance Ini-

tiative (BSCI). None of these are

forced on the private sector by

law or regulation but are influen-

tial in setting standards for cor-

porate conduct.

Private-sector acceptance –

again outside ofgovernments –

of consensus standards for best

practices regarding refugees,

such as hiring persons and ac-

cepting products or even services

from those communities, build-

ing on the existing work of the

Tent Foundation, which is sup-

ported by the Canadian-led

World Refugee Council, to get

companies to undertake a formal

pledge to hire refugees.

CORPORATESOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY

A closely related concept is that

of CSR standards, a major phe-

nomenon today that, while based

on self-interest, has fundamen-

tally changed corporate beha-

viour and had a profound influ-

ence on international business.

CSR is the private sector’s way of

integrating accepted economic,

social and environmental imper-

atives into strategic business

models.

There are many CSR policies

and programs that report on im-

plementation and compliance in

annual corporate reports. This is

not because of state regulation or

international treaties but be-

cause of political and social pres-

sure and the self-interest of the

company involved to be seen as

an ethically responsible actor.

In the human rights field, the

2011 UN Guiding Principles on

Business and Human Rights says,

“The responsibility to respect hu-

man rights is a global standard of

expected conduct for all business

enterprises wherever they oper-

ate. It exists independently of

States’ abilities and/or willing-

ness to fulfill their own human

rights obligations, and does not

diminish those obligations. And

it exists over and above compli-

ance with national laws and regu-

lations protecting human rights.”

As in the case of human rights

generally, a set of guiding princi-

ples respecting economic com-

mitments to aid refugees could

be formulated, taking its cue

from the existing CSR guidelines

but also going much further with

a broader suite of corporate-led

initiatives.

Only governments have the

ability to take the range of action

needed as outlined in the report

earlier this year –A Call to Action–

issued by the World Refugee

Council. However, as part of a col-

lective and comprehensive global

response to the refugee crisis,

there are important ways in

which the international business

community, including here in

Canada, can play its role.

Businesscantakeactiononrefugeecrisis

Private-s ectorinitiatives

canhelpfoster

commercialactivity,

mitigatepovertyfaced

bydisplacedpeople

andtheirhostcountries

LAWRENCEHERMAN
FENOSLERHAMPSON

OPINION

Lawrence Herman is a former
Canadian diplomat who practises
international law at Herman &
Associates and is a senior fellow
with the C.D. Howe Institute.

Fen Osler Hampson is chancellor’s
professor, Carleton University, and
executive director, World Refugee
Council.

VenezuelanrefugeesloadluggageonavehicletoleavethePeruvianborderpostatthebinationalborderattentioncentreinTumbes,Peru,inJune.

Recently,internationalaidagencieshaveassistedinthemarketingofrefugee-madeartisanalproducts,buttheprivatesectorcouldtaketheidea

further.Largeretailers,forexample,couldstockitemsspecificallylabelledasrefugee-madeproducts.CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

D

o your skills match the re-
quirements of your job?
For a large portion of Can-
adians, the answer is no, which
raises serious concerns for poli-
cy-makers.
While skills are essential for
individual success in the labour
market, they need to match
properly with job requirements
to enhance productivity and
achieve desirable outcomes for
workers, employers and society
at large.
Although some skills mis-
match is inevitable or temporary,
the problem can worsen and be-
come persistent in face of tech-
nological changes and aging de-
mographics, requiring govern-
ments and businesses to place a
high priority on improving la-
bour mobility and providing ap-
propriate training opportunities.
Skills mismatch generally oc-
curs when workers’ skills are
more or less advanced than the
skills required to perform their
jobs. While overskilled workers
are unable to use their full poten-
tial at work, underskilled work-
ers have skills that are lower than
required to perform their job.
Both situations can lower morale
and productivity.
Factors that can contribute to
skills mismatch are general eco-
nomic conditions, new technol-
ogy, demographics, imperfect in-
formation about workers’ skills

and the policy environment for

labour mobility and lifelong

learning.

My recent C.D. Howe study,

Bad Fits: The Causes, Extent and

Costs of Job Skills Mismatch in

Canada, shows that about 13 per

cent of full-time workers in Can-

ada are either under- or over-

skilled, in terms of literacy, nu-

meracy and problem-solving, for

their job, with the underskilled

and overskilled about equally di-

vided for each skill.

While skills needed in today’s

labour market are not limited to

these cognitive skills, they are

skills that workers need to use

essentially in any occupation

(but to varying degree) and are

fundamental to all learning.

The good news is that Canada

generally ranks among those de-

veloped countries with relatively

lower levels of skills mismatch.

However, there are two reasons

for concern.

First, the skills mismatch

problem is significantly more

pronounced among certain so-

cio-economic groups. While

workers with higher educational

attainment are more likely to be

overskilled, women, immigrants,

and older workers are more like-

ly to be underskilled for their

jobs. Relative to non-immigrants,

however, the greater underskill-

ing problem of immigrants en-

tirely disappears with time spent

in Canada, highlighting the im-

portance of settlement policies

that provide rigorous and acces-

sible skills training, language

programs and job-search work-

shops for newcomers.

Second, the skills mismatch

problem can worsen in the years

ahead as the labour market is

evolving because of technologi-

cal advances, work-force aging

and the growing role of new-

comers in Canada’s labour force.

There is certainly worry out

there: Taking into account a

broader set of skills such as ICT

(information and communica-

tions technology), interpersonal,

decision-making and physical

skills, the majority of Canadians

(92 per cent) considered them-

selves as being skills mismatched

for their jobs. The issue is com-

plex for employers and employ-

ees alike: There are workers who

may need no further training in

some types of skills, but they

may need to advance other skills

to excel in their career.

Some potential reasons that

may force workers to stay in jobs

that do not align with their skill

set include lack of information

about alternative job opportuni-

ties; barriers to labour mobility

or investment in training; em-

ployers’ reluctance to train their

staff; and lack of employment

opportunities because of eco-

nomic circumstances.

The results from my study

highlight the importance of pro-

viding more opportunities for

skills development and lifelong

learning for all workers and bet-

ter addressing individual train-

ing needs, particularly, among

underskilled people such as ol-

der workers and new immi-

grants.

Therefore,governments need

to promote participation in life-

long learning. Governments can

also help reduce both the over-

skilling and underskilling prob-

lems with policies that enhance

labour market flexibility and

ease labour mobility. For exam-

ple, removing barriers for certi-

fied and licensed workers can

help reduce overskilling since

there will be more jobs available

that match their skills level.

Finally, businesses – in addi-

tion to providing training oppor-

tunities for underskilled workers

• can reduce mismatches within
  their organizations by appropri-
  ately reassigning tasks, providing
  relocation assistance and finding
  innovative ways to use workers’
  skills in order to optimize pro-
  ductivity.

WhyCanada’sskillsmismatchiscauseforconcern

PARISA
MAHBOUBI

OPINION

Senior policy analyst at the C.D.
Howe Institute

Although some skills

mismatch is

inevitable or

temporary, the

problem can worsen

and become

persistent in face of

technological

changes and aging

demographics.