There is strong evidence around Europe that people from migrant backgrounds are more at risk of social exclusion; according to Eurostat, in 2014, 40.1 % of the non-EU-born population in the EU was assessed to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) compared to less than 22.5 % of the native-born population. When it comes to migrant employment in particular, there are two main issues at hand that are visible around all EU countries and therefore need to be addressed on an EU-wide level. Firstly, the issue of migrant employment and integration in general, and secondly the specific challenges that are faced by women on top of these employability problems. Advancing Migrant Women (AMW) aims to address both issues by specifically targeting female migrants. Its main aim is to empower women migrants by developing their employability and entrepreneurship skills through a holistic programme based on training and mentoring which will increase their self-efficacy. This programme will enable migrant women to find employment or set up a business where they can fully use their talents and strengths. During the project, a special dual training methodology will be used to support migrant women. Firstly, they will be able to take part in a training session that addresses several different employability skills through active learning techniques such as role-playing. Secondly, they will be able to take part in Circles™ that aim to develop soft skills, focus on self-reflection and build confidence. In the four partner countries, both the training and Circles™ programme will be conducted over two pilots with a minimum of 80 women being trained throughout the partnership. As employment and integration is a two-way street, the project also aims to support and empower employers to hire migrant women. The partners will therefore create the Guide ‘Maximising Diversity: The Business Case for the Recruitment of Migrant Women’ which explains in detail how to recruit migrant women and how diversity benefits a business. This way, the partners aim to increase the employment of migrant women by influencing employers as well as the former. Lastly, the project partners aim to help migrant women by developing an online e-learning platform where they can connect, share experiences and read stories of role models. It will also contain all training materials so that any other organisation can repeat the training with a different group of migrant women. After the project completion, it is envisaged that the interventions delivered to the migrant women will make them feel more confident to apply for jobs or set up their own business, and employers will feel more confident to hire migrant women. This will in turn increase social cohesion and will harness economic development. This is voiced by OECD’s recommendations for the “New Sustainable Development Goals” released by the UN in 2015 in which it stresses that issuing policies that integrate all segments of society (migrants) quickly is critical in achieving target measures by 2030. AMW will harness the benefits of female migrants’ integration towards achieving the overall objectives of poverty reduction, peace building and socio-economic development.
There is strong evidence around Europe that people from migrant backgrounds are more at risk of social exclusion; according to Eurostat, in 2014, 40.1 % of the non-EU-born population in the EU was assessed to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) compared to less than 22.5 % of the native-born population. When it comes to migrant employment in particular, there are two main issues at hand that are visible around all EU countries and therefore need to be addressed on an EU-wide level. Firstly, the issue of migrant employment and integration in general, and secondly the specific challenges that are faced by women on top of these employability problems. Advancing Migrant Women (AMW) aimed to address both issues by specifically targeting female migrants. Its main aim was to empower women migrants by developing their employability and entrepreneurship skills through a holistic programme based on training and mentoring which would increase their self-efficacy. This programme enabled migrant women to find employment or set up a business where they could fully use their talents and strengths. During the project, a special dual training methodology was used to support migrant women. Firstly, they took part in a training program that addressed several different aspects with regard to employability. Secondly, they took part in the Mentoring Circles™ that aimed to develop soft skills, focus on self-reflection and build confidence. In the four partner countries, both the training and Circles™ programme were conducted over two pilots with a total of 121 women being trained throughout, and the partnership receiving very positive feedback from participants. As employment and integration is a two-way street, the project also aimed to support and empower employers to hire migrant women. The partners created the Guide ‘Maximising Diversity: The Business Case for the Recruitment of Migrant Women’ which explains in detail how to recruit migrant women and how diversity benefits a business. This way, the partners have aimed to increase the employment of migrant women by influencing employers as well as the former. A total of 180 employers and business intermediaries were approached or attended Multiplier events were these topics were addressed. and a further 30 employers had then already participated in interviews and focus groups for initial stages of the project. Furthermore, during the research conducted for the project, both migrant women and employers were engaged. Lastly, the project partners aimed to support migrant women by developing an online e-learning platform where they can connect, share experiences and read stories of role models. The platform also contains all training materials so that any other organisation can repeat the training with a different group of migrant women. The activities carried out throughout the project have contributed to making migrant women feel more confident, and employers feel more confident to hire migrant women. This will in turn increase social cohesion and will harness economic development. This is voiced by OECD’s recommendations for the “New Sustainable Development Goals” released by the UN in 2015 in which it stresses that issuing policies that integrate all segments of society (migrants) quickly is critical in achieving target measures by 2030. AMW will continue to harness the benefits of female migrants’ integration towards achieving the overall objectives of poverty reduction, peace building and socio-economic development.