Blog post Part of special issue: The right to education for forcibly displaced people: Exploring ideas on participation, connectedness and technology
From training to livelihoods: Why soft skills and systems support matter for displaced learners
Digital remote work is often presented as a route to livelihoods for forcibly displaced people (). In practice, the pathway is rarely straightforward. It is shaped by fragile opportunities and systems not designed with displaced learners in mind (). This blog post combines practitioner reflections and results from forthcoming mixed methods reports from ±·²¹â€™a³¾²¹±ô’s digital livelihoods programme, including a randomised quantitative evaluation and longitudinal focus group discussions. We argue that skills training builds readiness, but livelihoods are unlocked when education is paired with soft skills and institutional support that help refugees navigate real labour markets.
This post draws on research and implementation experience supporting refugees and under resourced communities to access dignified digital work, while generating practitioner-led evidence on what works and what does not.
‘Skills training builds readiness, but livelihoods are unlocked when education is paired with soft skills and institutional support that help refugees navigate real labour markets.’
Why skills do not automatically become jobs
As part of its expansion into Uganda, Na’amal supported job placements for refugees. A company agreed to interview five candidates for entry-level roles, sending calendar invites with Google Meet links. On the day, none attended, and there were no follow-up emails from the company. When Na’amal followed up, the reasons were familiar: uncertainty about whether the interview was online or in person, hesitation to ask clarifying questions, and doubt about whether the opportunity was genuine without a direct message from a person.
This reflected a key difference in the Uganda programme: it focused on job linkages rather than ±·²¹â€™a³¾²¹±ô’s full model, which combines soft skills training with mentorship and work intermediation. Participants had not been trained to navigate the professional norms, communication expectations and trust signals that shape hiring processes. This was not a technical skills problem. It was about the often-invisible rules of participation that sit between training and work.
In a separate programme, Na’amal delivered structured freelance training alongside support to access remote work. Evaluation data showed that many participants understood major remote work platforms and had taken practical steps, such as creating profiles. Women were especially active on platforms such as Upwork and LinkedIn, often spending more time searching for opportunities and increasing their exposure to potential work. Yet this activity did not consistently translate into employment. Many participants became discouraged when early applications went unanswered. This shows that while human and soft skills training is essential to build readiness, it must be combined with stronger pathways into paid work, employer engagement and support to overcome the structural barriers between skills and work.
Soft skills as bridges to participation and economic inclusion: ±·²¹â€™a³¾²¹±ô’s approach
While soft skills are sometimes regarded as abstract, in remote work settings they are concrete and observable. They include communicating clearly, managing time and thinking critically. These are not optional extras, but the interface between learners and the labour market ().
In ±·²¹â€™a³¾²¹±ô’s programmes, these skills are developed through an online asynchronous course, live workshops, tutor groups and mentoring. The aim is to create repeated opportunities for refugees to practise professional behaviours and receive feedback. The missed interview story highlights that what feels ‘obvious’ to an experienced professional – reply, clarify, confirm – needs to be taught and rehearsed.
Mentorship can also translate readiness into action (; ). Na’amal matches learners with professionals for biweekly one-to-one sessions over six months. Mentors provide space to practise critical soft skills, navigate uncertainty and sustain confidence when setbacks begin to feel personal.
±·²¹â€™a³¾²¹±ô’s evaluations demonstrate that the programme meaningfully shifts participation and confidence in ways that support entry into competitive labour markets. Around 90 per cent of participants report very high confidence in core soft skills. Yet, without direct job placement support, employment outcomes remain mixed, ranging from stable freelance work and small business activity to continued applications without traction. Participants consistently identify soft skills training and mentorship as critical to building connectedness, confidence and professional identity.
Institutional barriers, and the need for an ecosystem
Even with growing skills, confidence and, in some cases, jobs secured, structural constraints remain. Payment registration and verification block access for those with limited documentation or restricted financial services. Platform bidding costs, such as , turn applications into pay-to-participate. Fees, financial exclusion and transaction chains reduce take-home income. These barriers shape what refugees can do with acquired skills ; ).
This is why intermediary organisations matter. They can broker trust with employers, translate workplace norms, support fair pay negotiation and build networks that sustain momentum through referrals, troubleshooting and motivation.
Reframing pathways to livelihoods
A key lesson is that learning often reveals constraints rather than removing them. Soft skills shape participation, not just employability, because they influence who persists, follows up and negotiates. Livelihoods are produced by ecosystems, not individuals. For displaced learners, pathways to livelihoods are not linear skill-to-job pipelines, but fragile transitions shaped by confidence, institutional barriers and ongoing intermediation.