GFEMS Launches “Future in Training — Hospitality” Survivor Employability Pilot

A major theme in the recommendations from the 2019 U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking’s Report is the need for additional resources dedicated to assistance in gaining and maintaining employment for underserved populations like survivors of human trafficking. While lack of specialized employment support is not a new problem and similar recommendations have been made in the past, few resources exist for survivors to gain the necessary skills or training to succeed in obtaining meaningful and decent work.

This International Women’s Day, GFEMS is pleased to announce the pilot launch of the “Future in Training (FIT) Hospitality” Survivor Employability Curriculum, in partnership with Marriott International.

Developed by GFEMS and Marriott over the past two years, the first-ever FIT curriculum focuses on hospitality. It is the Fund’s first program in the United States and is aimed specifically at providing training and resources for survivors seeking careers in the hospitality sector. Marriott’s partnership with GFEMS is part of the company’s human rights goals, which include training 100% of on-property hotel workers in human trafficking awareness. To date, the company has trained over 700,000 hotel workers,

The FIT Hospitality pilot will be implemented with the support of the University of Maryland Safe Center (UMD Safe Center) in the Washington, DC metro area. Through this program, GFEMS will provide survivors with an introduction to hospitality and tools for employability in the sector using a multi-disciplinary curriculum encouraging dynamic engagement. The first-phase of the pilot will test implementation and knowledge gained to inform further enhancements and the need for post-curriculum follow-up services, such as application assistance or career mentoring. Pilot participants will also benefit from transportation and child care support that mitigate known barriers to survivor career training.

GFEMS anticipates several learning outcomes following the FIT Hospitality pilot. GFEMS will support identification and monitoring of the barriers survivors face in trying to gain training and aim to understand the adequate level of support survivors need while participating. Ultimately, GFEMS seeks to gain a better understanding of the type of assistance survivors need to gain meaningful employment and implement that knowledge into the FIT curriculum and other programming; the Fund aims to create customized assistance that meets the needs of survivors.

The pilot will provide valuable insights for GFEMS as it continues to build its portfolio within one of its key pillars, Sustaining Freedom for survivors. As GFEMS continues to grow and build new programs globally, livelihood training programs in various industries and sectors that both equip survivors with necessary skills and prevent at-risk populations from entering risky situations remain a priority. Insights from the FIT Hospitality pilot, along with other planned research, will inform new FIT programming in additional sectors for sustained freedom in the US and abroad.

Following the pilot’s implementation, GFEMS looks forward to sharing the insights gained and plans for future implementation. The Fund is grateful for the partnership and support of Marriott and UMD Safe Center, and is excited to continue our commitment to empowering survivors.

Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter for the latest information on our activity.

==

The Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS) is a bold international fund catalyzing a coherent global strategy to end human trafficking by making it economically unprofitable. With leadership from government and the private sector around the world, the Fund is escalating resources, designing public-private partnerships, funding new tools and methods for sustainable solutions, and assessing impact to better equip our partners to scale and replicate solutions in new geographies.