European Conference Maastricht Vocational training for asylum seekers: effects & methods Panel 2 Vocational Training and Labour Integration

Conceptual Framework Situation of the Asylum Seekers  The labour integration is the basis for the social integration in host country  The employment of the Asylum Seeker can be increased through vocational training  Preconditions: language proficiency and labour market knowledge  It is necessary to keep and increase the abilities and competencies of the Asylum Seeker

Conceptual Framework Access to Training and Employment  Differences among the European Governments regarding the access to education, training and employment of the Asylum Seeker  Differences between the social and labour integration programmes and the national and European regulations concerning Asylum Seekers and immigration  There is no correlation between the present and future situation of the Asylum Seeker and the objectives of EQUAL  It is necessary to discuss the above-mentioned and draw conclusions and proposals towards the national politics

Scope of Practice in the 5 DP’s  All he DP’s have developed projects that encourage the labour integration  JobShop and ENEAS plan their programmes according to the real possibilities of employment  BTW offers resources with neutral options (useful for both, returning and stay)  SEPA and HIT prepare the Asylum Seeker for both, the European labour market and the return

DP SEPA, Germany Mr. R. Hans  Results:  About 250 Asylum Seekers followed a training program  70 internships in firms (“practical”) could be carried out as the second best solution for working experience  Employers are satisfied with the work performance of Asylum Seekers during internships  Problems:  High administrative barriers blocking the German labour market against Asylum Seekers  Employers are not content with possibilities to hire Asylum Seekers  High drop-out rate

DP Back to Work, NL Mr. H. Brouwer  Results:  163 Asylum Seekers have taken vocational training courses  Asylum Seekers keep closer to the labour market  Social activation  Problems:  Asylum Seekers skills decreases because they do not have access to jobs  Dutch language acquisition (main reason for dropping out)

DP HIT, Netherlands Mr. F. Bastiaens  Results:  450 Asylum Seekers started a vocational training course  225 Asylum Seekers did internship: good opportunity for further labour integration  More than 50% of employers taking an Asylum Seeker for an internship want to repeat  Problems:  Drop-out-rate: 120 Asylum Seekers left prematurely the course  Very limited possibilities to work: 12 weeks per 12 months  Language: Dilemma of how far to go (Stay / Return)  Link to home countries

DP JobShop, Austria Ms. M. Weinberger  Objectives:  Language proficiency and vocational training  Integration into Tyrolean job market  Results:  Few drop-outs in complete training  Labour integration: ~30% despite difficulties obtaining a work permit  Good practise:  Special methods and didactic approaches for Asylum Seekers  Training for entering the job-market  Specific language training (workplace terminology)  Problems:  No work permits except for jobs in tourism and agriculture  New EU members as competitors  Insufficient language skills in vocational training courses

DP ENEAS, Spain Mrs. Mª Fuencisla Rodriguez Martin  Objectives:  Capacity building and re-training in the host country  Raising the possibilities and the quality of employment  Contributing to the psychosocial welfare and integration in the host country  ENEAS-Equal DP members work for the same objectives: Networking, Derivation system, Resources use  Activities:  Individual itinerary of insertion or individual program, active, flexible and tailor-made

DP ENEAS, Spain Mrs. Mª Fuencisla Rodriguez Martin  Results:  Near 700 Asylum Seekers got a labour contract (210 women/ 484 men) - 40% of contracts are directly related to the received vocational training  More than Asylum Seekers followed an individual itinerary of insertion  Few drop-outs: Most of them because they found a job  People from Spanish speaking countries integrated easier and faster - people from Sub-Saharan countries take a period of time  Problems:  Legal and administrative conditions of Asylum Seekers  Qualifications recognition

Comparative Table Access to Vocational Training and Employment

General Conclusions  Different projects have tried successfully different approaches and techniques to achieve Asylum Seekers integration in spite of national regulations  There are enormous differences between the legal systems in the EU-Member States  EQUAL is designed as a field-laboratory, but the EQUAL- projects are not allowed to leave the juridical system for a defined time and defined persons, which is pre-condition for testing  The perspective of the asylum seeker has a double difficulty: prepare for potential participation in the European labour market or an unknown labour market in the country of origin

Political Conclusions  Integration is less dependent on the capacities of Asylum Seekers, than on the barriers of Governments  Harmonisation of European legislation should be speeded up  The time-span between asylum application and final decision should be shortened  For the time being, all measures which give access to the world of leaning and working should be promoted  To establish sustainable solutions for the Asylum Seekers once they have left this situation  Countries of origin need special employment promotion programmes embedded in development assistance

European Conference Maastricht Vocational training for asylum seekers: effects & methods Panel 2 Vocational Training and Labour Integration