Since 2017, Education for Humanity at Arizona State University has been working with partners to provide English-language lessons and training in entrepreneurship and digital literacy to refugees.

Now, Education for Humanity is partnering with Na’amal, an organization that trains refugees for remote jobs and connects them to paid work, addressing one of the biggest gaps in refugee education.

Through the new collaboration, Na’amal’s Human Skills for Digital Work course has been adapted for Education for Humanity’s online-or-offline platform, where learners can earn ASU micro-credentials. 

In Na’amal-led programs, that course is paired with workshops, mentorship and job-placement support. In other cases, Education for Humanity’s global partners can offer the course on its own, expanding access to skills training and credentials.

“By pairing Na’amal’s proven curriculum with ASU Education for Humanity’s micro-credentials, highly accessible delivery platform and global experience, we have a chance to bridge this gap at scale,” said Lorraine Charles, founder and executive director of Na’amal, a U.K.-based social enterprise and Netherlands-based nonprofit.

The micro-credential from ASU Education for Humanity, an internationally recognized leader in education, is crucial, Charles said.

“We wanted to give our learners access to the symbolic value of the ASU brand. As refugees, they often begin at a disadvantage, starting from far behind,” she said.

“This partnership allows us to give refugees and other underresourced communities something that helps them stand out, be recognized and overcome some of the barriers they face. For employers, the brand is important.”

For the past five years, Na’amal has delivered training in skills such as communication, collaboration, problem-solving, goal setting and adaptability in its Human Skills for Digital Work course. About 2,000 learners have gone through the program and 60% have been able to find paid work within six months.

The partnership is a natural fit because Na’amal’s mission aligns with ASU, said Marc Alan Sperber, assistant director of program design and development at Education for Humanity.

“There are such great challenges that no one actor could do it on their own — we need to find ways to complement each other’s strengths,” Sperber said.

“What does education lead to? How do people go from training to paid work? That’s what Na’amal does in communities affected by displacement. This is going to be a very impactful partnership.”

Na’amal is an Arabic word meaning “we work” and also “we hope,” Charles said.

“At Na’amal, we believe that dignified, meaningful work not only provides income, but also restores a sense of purpose, belonging and possibility for the future. It provides hope.”

In her research in 2016, she found many refugee-training programs focused on employment in the host country. But many countries have laws restricting full access to work for refugees.

“This is where the idea of remote work for refugees emerged, and before COVID, few people were interested or even understood it, and many couldn’t see its potential. But I was convinced that it was possible,” Charles said.

She also saw that many training programs did not focus explicitly on interpersonal skills.

“I put the two together and built a program that supported refugees with the soft skills to work remotely,” she said, including cross-cultural communication and the ability to work independently and quickly adapt.

The Human Skills for Digital Work course has been enhanced and adapted for Education for Humanity’s offline-first SunSPOT platform, meaning that if a learner lacks reliable or affordable internet — a common challenge — they can connect a smartphone, tablet or PC to a small hardware device called a Beekee Hub and complete the course fully offline. They can sit in a learning center next to the Beekee Hub for a social, facilitated learning experience, or transfer the course to their own device and bring it home, also fully offline. 

That flexibility is critical because many learners can’t afford internet or cellular data until they secure paid work, and offline access allows them to complete the training cost-free.

Beyond the accessible coursework, Na’amal creates pathways to paid work by helping learners build connections.

“We know that people don’t find jobs simply by applying — it’s all about social capital. Those who succeed are usually the ones with the strongest networks and connections,” Charles said.

Mentors, a key part of Na’amal’s program, are the first step toward social capital.

“We have seen how mentors can change the lives of mentees, and it’s not just the knowledge they impart. They give them links to the first job. They introduce them to their networks and provide this crucial social capital,” she said.

“Mentors also provide exposure to the global workforce.”

Na’amal has also created an agency of refugee talent that can be hired by companies who want to outsource IT work.

“It looks like any agency you’d find in London or New York or Paris, but the people doing the work are refugees who we’ve trained.

“It’s completing the circle. The idea is they’ll get experience, build their portfolios and, most importantly, get face time with clients who may be interested in working with refugees but perhaps haven’t had the experience to truly see and appreciate their skills.”

The Human Skills for Digital Work program will be rolled out by the beginning of 2026 after a pilot concludes.

“Education for Humanity is moving in this direction of partnering with organizations like Na’amal to expand our portfolio of courses and complementary services for the benefit of all of our partners and all of our programs,” Sperber said.

“This includes adding new languages, offering co-branded certificates and continually evolving our system and services to meet partner needs. We’re only successful if they’re successful.”

Education for Humanity works with partners in some of the most difficult settings in the world, Sperber noted.

“We’ve enabled our partners to reach medical professionals inside war-torn Sudan and seen Sudanese learning offline in nearby refugee camps, as well as girls in Afghanistan and teachers in refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. Ukrainians on the front line have been using the Education for Humanity platform in bunkers, and many others in crisis contexts where barriers to education are often perceived to be insurmountable,” he said.

“The need for these types of programs and partnerships has never been greater. Fortunately, we’ve designed our system and services for scale, and we’re ready to support tens of thousands of learners each year through any partner who has the means to do so.”

Source link