InterCulturExpressPromoting the occupational opportunities

of migrants

Viennese Development Partnership within the EU Community initiative EQUAL

August Gächterpresented at

RealizeFirst Transnational Workshop

Cesena, 2012-02-07

Situation• Increasing shares of educated, trained, and

skilled immigrants and refugees• Difficult to have qualifications formally recognized

and informally appreciated• Very poor chances of upward mobility once an

immigrant has slipped into a low-skill job• Nearly half the non-EU immigrants with more than

compulsory education work below their level of education (but only 1 in 6 of non-migrants)

Strategic goals• Earlier migrants: Promotion of occupational

mobility– into employment– into new, more adequate employment– up the occupational scale

• New migrants: Support for a more rapid entry into employment adequate to education received and skills obtained

• Generally: Making qualifications visible

Target groups

Migrants in Vienna• Aiming to use their education or their

occupational skills brought from abroad more adequately, or

• Wanting to acquire skills, or• Actively looking for work, or• Wanting to return to work

Target groups• Staff

– in occupational adult education– in the Public Employment Service and other

organisations promoting employment opportunities– potential mentors

• Organisations– providing occupational adult education– companies as potential providers of internships

Implementation

InterCulturExpress was a pilot projecti.e. intended as a learning experience for the

organisers with small numbers of migrantswith a view to producing the skills and materials

for subsequent full-scale implementationSix component modulesCarried out mid-2005 to mid-2007

Successes• Mainstream partners got sensitized, acquired

confidence and enthusiasm• Media events were well reported• Prompted high-level decision makers to pledge

action to improve the use of “imported” skills• Continuation of components after the end of the

EQUAL partnership• National level commitments in 2011

Recognized education of participants 2005-2006

abroad in AustriaLess than 9 yrs 2 29 years 3 35Apprenticeship 7 110-11 years 2 112-13 years 33 26Tertiary 31 13Total 78 78

Module 1: Lighthouse

• Development and implementation of a training course incl materials and guidelines

• Skilling recently arrived migrants and refugees as professional occupational orientation trainers and as education counsellors

• 16 participants from 14 countries• Almost all gained employment in the field, i.e.

became “peer counsellors”

Module 2: Antenna• German as an occupational language in metals

and electricity trades, and in mathematics• Legal advice, especially indebtedness• Development and testing of didactic concepts

and self-learning materials• Product: curriculum, audiovisual teaching and

learning materials• 26 participants, almost all transferred to regular

training

Module 3: Bimm

• Occupational integration and mentoring for migrants – skills and company for women

• Creation of a mentoring programme• Occupational training and orientation• Product: mentoring programme and publication• 24 participants, of which 9 received mentoring

13 found employment, 3 decided on further education

Module 6: Ponte

• Development and testing of e-learning tools adequate for recently arrived migrants

• Practical ICT for educated or trained migrants• Product: guidebook on assistance with didactic

and pedagogical commentary and worksheets• 24 participants, 3 gained internships in their

desired occupations, all drew up career plans for the use of the PES to focus their next steps

Module 4: Streetlight

• Training for PES and adult education staff on the recognition of education and training from abroad and on inequalities in the labour market

• Picked up from two earlier EQUAL projects• Product: action guide and newsletter (8 editions,

1300 recipients)• 661 participants in 30 workshops and 4

information events

Module 5: Gender Mainstreaming

• The project partners jointly wrote a film scenario on four female migrants in the labour market and their interactions with authorities, employers, experts

• The movie, “Chance Migration”, was used by schools and a number of other institutions

• Gender map showing resources linking gender and diversity

Website

All materials are at

www.interculturexpress.at

Suggestions• Provide rapid advice for new arrivals on

education and labour market in order to exploit early enthusiasm and to optimize integration into the labour market and into the occupational structure

• Provide tailor-made courses for persons arriving with useful skills in order to rapidly and effectively link them to the labour market

• Provide training for recent arrivals with little or no education, training, and skills

Suggestions• Make existing education, training, and skills

visible to labour market stakeholders and to society more widely

• Create competence centres for the recognition of training and education

• From the very beginning involve all levels of political and social partner decision makers in a variety of roles: speakers, listeners, partners, counsellors etc.

Successors• From 2007: Perspektive: Occupational and

educational advice for recognized refugees in Vienna

• From 2008: Competence Centre on Recognition and Further Education for New Immigrants

• Merged in 2010• Funded by ESF, City, and other sources• 2011 budget of Euro 654,407

Services• Screening of education and training

received abroad• Advice on education and training

opportunities• Guidance throughout the recognition

procedure• Up to €600 per person for occupational

training courses