Chandni Puri, a programme coordinator at the centre, said the number of enrolled refugees who had found employment had jumped to 102 so far this year, up from just 26 three years ago.

“The main aim is to provide proper training to a group of people who are in a position to work, to give dignity and life back to them,” she said.

The NGO attributed the increase to Hong Kong’s manpower shortage following the Covid-19 pandemic, especially within the local food and beverage sector, as well as the hotel industry.

Jeffrey Andrews, a senior social worker who runs the centre, said refugees had been hired right away and employers were willing to offer on-the-job training.

Andrews stressed that having a job could change a refugee’s life.

“One man fled the civil war in Sri Lanka in the early 2000s. He’s a fisherman and asked us: ‘How do I make a CV?” he said.

“Some of our young volunteers were very creative. Among his skills, they listed stock taking, quality control and logistics, which are all the things a fisherman does, and now he works as a cook making seafood dishes at a five-star hotel.”

Andrews also pointed to another refugee, a Buddhist monk who fled Bangladesh after being tortured, who was later named “employee of the year” within 12 months of working at a five-star hotel that employed 700 people.

The social worker also spoke about a former rebel commander who earned praised for tackling a blaze at the restaurant where he worked as a kitchen assistant.

“He said everyone ran away except him,” Andrews added. “The fire services came and asked where’s the fire? He said: ‘It’s nothing. In my country, it’s nothing.’”

The funds from OSC will support the centre’s computer training efforts, cover medical check-ups required by immigration authorities and fees for internationally recognised courses, with a curriculum spanning baking, barista skills and cosmetics.

The internationally recognised courses could also help its students to resettle in the United States or Canada, the only two countries that take refugees from Hong Kong.

Among those who passed through the centre’s door was Shivani*, 33, who had fled from her native country in South Asia alongside her husband 10 years ago over fears of political persecution.

The couple gained the right to stay in Hong Kong several years ago, but had to subsist on government subsidies totalling HK$5,400 (US$690) each month. She said the amount was not enough to cover rent or the cost of raising the pair’s three children.

Shivani said she and her husband had been eager to find work, but many employers lacked experience processing immigration documents held by asylum seekers.

“There were no opportunities for us,” she said. “If we showed our immigration papers, the employers would ask: ‘What is this?’”

But she took up a computer training course at the centre and later secured a job as a hotel receptionist.

“It’s too expensive to survive in Hong Kong, but at least my life is not a struggle now,” Shivani said. “It’s a little bit better. I want to learn more. I want to study tourism and get a diploma.”

Programme coordinator Puri said about 100 of the 320 recognised refugees in Hong Kong were currently working, and she hoped to help more find jobs.

Under the current system in Hong Kong, only asylum seekers granted non-refoulement can apply for permission from the director of immigration to take up employment, which is granted on a discretionary basis.

Andrews said empowering refugees to find work was a win for everyone.

“It’s a win for our community, a win for Hong Kong,” he said. “They feel like they’re giving something back to Hong Kong, which has protected them.”

*Name changed at interviewee’s request