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Workshop for refugees on employment was conducted by the Regional Office in Almaty

Almaty, Kazakhstan. January 18, 2010. UNHCR Regional Office in Almaty conducted a workshop for refugees aimed at review of different employment opportunities. The workshop is the first one held by the office within the framework of self - reliance activities.

More than 35 refugees and asylum-seekers took part in the workshop. Based on the participatory assessment results and series of meetings with refugees, formal employment was named to be one of the main issues refugees and asylum-seekers face in the country.

The workshop covered techniques on how to find a job and was conducted in collaboration with System Lab on Employment and Innovation project (SYSLAB), implemented in cooperation with UNDP. Gaukhar Ospanova, SYSLAB Project Coordinator, delivered a presentation on job hunting methods along with sharing practical advice and examples related to finding a job.

The second part of the workshop was devoted to sharing of success stories by refugees. Tamara, one of the refugees, shared how she obtained necessary for employment documents such as taxpayer's number (RNN) and a waiver from presenting national insurance number (SIK) to get employed. She said, "I am a refugee from Uzbekistan, and when I came to Kazakhstan, I had nothing. I had no relatives, place to live, and was working illegally. After several cases of not receiving payment from the employer I decided to obtain documents for having an opportunity to claim my rights. I received necessary taxpayer's number, and now I am employed. I believe that there is nothing impossible, and my example is a good illustration of it".

During the workshop issues such as educational requirements, necessary skills for employment, knowledge of languages, and educational support for the refugees were also discussed.

"This workshop helped me a lot, providing necessary information where and how to start looking for a job" - underlined Feruza, a refugee from Uzbekistan. Sherzod, one of the participants said, "This workshop provided good practical examples".

Farkhod underlined, "The workshop was very helpful, and for instance I learned how to obtain taxpayer's number and how to deal with social individual number. But what is more important that such workshop is a sign of the organizers' attention and support to us, and a reminder that we are still people and can be treated as people".