Idaho employers will gain some insight into the value and benefits of hiring members of the state’s growing international refugee community during a June 23 seminar in Boise.
Sponsored by the Idaho Department of Labor and four refugee organizations, the Refugee Educational Seminar will outline ways businesses can recruit refugees and what programs businesses that hire refugees can benefit from including the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides up to a $2,400 federal tax break for businesses for each poor person they hire.
“Refugees are survivors of great adversity, having lost their homes, personal property and careers,” Jan Reeves, director of the Idaho Office for Refugees, said. “Their personal need to regain self-sufficiency, their interest in acquiring new skills and their desire to attain economic stability for their families make them excellent prospects at all job levels.”
The seminar runs from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. June 23 at the Red Lion Hotel, 1800 Fairview Ave. in Boise.
Reeves will open the seminar with a presentation on refugees and their history in southwestern Idaho. He will be followed by a panel of business people, who will discuss their successful experiences in hiring refugees. The Labor Department’s Business Services administrator will talk about what programs businesses hiring refugees can tap, and representatives of the refugee organizations will speak about the services those agencies provide. All participants will be available for questions before the seminar wraps up.
“Refugees have earned a great reputation because of their strong work ethic, their loyalty and their productivity,” said Tim Leigh, assistant manager of the Labor Department’s Boise office and one of the seminar’s organizers. “During these difficult economic times, businesses can support a strong community work ethic and improve their bottom lines by hiring refugees.”