Internationally, lifelong learning has come higher on the political agenda since the mid-1990s. There is now a broad consensus on the importance of adult learning taking place in many arenas, not least of these being in the workplace. At the same time, immigration and social exclusion is a challenge, which many EU countries must address. European research on labour migration over the same timeframe has shown us that immigrants have so far been over-represented in the lower-level labour market, in uncertain and low-paid positions, and with limited income mobility. Many therefore can feel excluded from their new societies, when the need for them to be included in society and the workplace has never been higher. There have been many ways in which immigrants have attempted to be integrated. The latest numbers in Norway show that 67 percent of those in Norway (two thirds!) return to NAV within seven years of their Introduction Programme finishing and in need of financial support. The consortiums own experiences suggest that in the majority of cases, the participants skill set does not match the current needs of the labour market. There are many factors, which contribute to their "social exclusion". Some suffer from lack of primary and/or secondary education, whilst others have little and/or no work experience. Many have poor language skills, and many show a lack of understanding of how their new countries function both socially and economically. Naturally, challenges such as social integration, adult learning, and immigration in their entirety are far too big for any singular institution to solve by itself, but many countries share the same problem. After primary discussions with our partners in Turkey, Scotland and Italy, we found they too are experiencing the same issues that we are. We, the consortium feel that it maybe possible to develop and implement a model which increases the chances of the participants of securing work by upskilling in certain trades with have future needs for labour. Others may have a goal of reaching a linguistic qualification of B1 in their new country. B1 is the minimum for many which means that they can apply for further schooling/education, and is the minimum standard which many professions crave (from childcare to the medical profession). Being active in either education or securing skills within vocational trades are one of the main methods of going from being socially excluded to inclusion in their new society. The consortiums idea is based on a three-stage plan. We will begin with a local needs study and immediately assess our findings. We will look at existing learning offers available to immigrants and migrants in specific areas and see if they can be incorporated into our model. Four groups will be created(one in each country) of ca.20 people and we will put them on a course to give them an opportunity to either take up a vocational trade or an academic pathway which can lead to qualification B1. We aim to give them the necessary tools to choose the right pathway by helping them recognise their own strengths, abilities, attributes and weaknesses, as well as understanding what it can take to reach their goal. We will produce our own model and incoporate existing curriculum based on the participants needs. From a test group Oslo Service Senter worked with in 2014, we found that early mapping and career advice (both in individual and group form) led to fewer wrong choices and a higher percentage people qualified from our project than with the Norwegian national "Introduction Programme." The second part of the plan will then lead to each participant taking a conscious and informed decision as to whether they choose to take a vocational trade (with the possibility for further linguistic tuition which will be customised to their chosen trade in the workplace and work placement) or the opportunity to stay in the classroom and attempt to reach the B1 level aided by the introduction of digital software and digital learning. Those choosing vocation will also receive some form of linguistic education whilst they are onsite/ in the workplace, whilst crucially upskilling. The third part of the plan will involve following up of each participant and publishing a Best Practices Guide. Research has shown us that some immigrants can be exposed to the risks of dropping out in periods of uncertainty and/or transition. We have therefore planned to optimise the following up of the participants in this period, as well as prioritising assisting those who wish to apply for further education wherever needed. Five Intellectual Outputs will be made within the project lifetime, with each member of the consortium having senior responsibility for producing at least one of these. Objectives for the project: (keywords) Better integration for immigrants/migrants, social inclusion, better skills mapping; career advice, upskilling, employability
Most of the projects’ goals have already been mentioned above (ie. Increased employment for migrants, fewer participants making poor educational or upskilling choices, more people who become financially self-dependent and more choosing an educational/language learning pathway based on individual- and labour market needs.) However, in addition to these targets/goals, we also saw a number of secondary goals which came to light. Amongst them, were an increased cooperation amongst the participating partners. In addition to this, participating partners also enjoyed greater cooperation with other organisations internally within each country. For example, Oslo Adult Education Servicesenter/Karriere Oslo enjoyed an increased amount of cooperation with NAV. At the first meeting, all participating partners set ourselves three goals. Primarily, we wanted to establish a common understanding with one another. This was achieved to a great extent. Secondly, we wanted to forge a common framework for career guidance for migrants. Finally, it was a common goal in all participating countries that we wanted to see the beneficiaries succeed and achieve success in education and the labour market, on the path to achieving social cohesion.
Immigration and exclusion for migrants is a challenge for most countries within the EU, with many of these migrants/refugees having to work in low-paid jobs. Many of these positions lack the stability, pay levels and security of permanent, high-end positions. There are as many people know several reasons as to why immigrants struggle to acquire attractive or relevant types of work. Some reasons are poor mapping, a lack of education and weak or absent career guidance which can lead to resourceful migrants being led into lower end employment. We have seen that early career guidance is an essential part of integration, so that migrants can be given the adequate counselling and therefore apply to suitable educational or workrelated choices, based on the labour market needs and individual goals. Correct and quality intervention at an early stadia would mean that fewer mistakes or wrong choices are made by not only the migrant, but also the educational department and labour welfare offices who usually financially support them and cover the costs of these courses. We therefore wanted to see if we can find a common European ground through this collaborate project.