Refugee migration to Europe present both opportunities and challenges for vocational education and training systems. On the opportunity side, an influx of highly-motivated individuals provides a boost to the labour force, and particularly to sectors that have difficulty filling demand. On the challenge side, refugees often enter host-country labour markets without orientation or even a basic concept of the types of VET and career tracks available. The proposed project seeks to address this challenge through research and innovation. Its primary output will be a multilingual application accessible by mobile phone. Users will take a Vocational Interest Self-Evaluation test, which will ask them to rank certain tasks (e.g. “repair engines,” “design websites,” “assist with vaccinations”) on a scale of interest. Based on the results, the tool will suggest VET and career options that both suit users’ interests and are relevant to local labour market needs. Users will then be able to use the app to access motivational Video Profiles of third-country nationals who have completed VET in their fields of interest, as well as to find and network with VET counsellors and providers in their areas. In parallel, the application will host Guidelines on Early VET Orientation and a Research Report, designed to assist stakeholders in addressing the needs of the app users and other under-served VET seekers.
The VET Voices project sought to fill the above-mentioned gap by developing a user-friendly app that is accessible across borders and easily transferable / modifiable for different European contexts. Within this app, it sought to provide: 1) motivation, via videos with other young people; 2) knowledge about different job skills and fields, via a quiz-based app; and 3) guidance, via links to career counsellors and job centres in young peoples' areas of residence. The project’s overarching ambition was to establish a new best practice for the provision of foundational vocational training information and guidance to underserved groups, in this case refugees and asylum-seekers.
The European Agenda on Migration established the groundwork for transnational synergy in refugee migration. Civil society can play a crucial role here by developing resources that serve refugee populations across borders. Past SINUS research projects (e.g., https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-658-24966-3) have demonstrated how refugee migration to Europe present both opportunities and challenges for vocational education and training systems. On the opportunity side, an influx of motivated individuals provides a boost to the labour force. On the challenge side, refugees often enter host-country labour markets without orientation or a concept of the types of VET and career tracks available. There are many existing information sources and tools, but most require a prerequisite level of knowledge and/or assistance to use. The VET Voices project sought to fill this gap provide a comprehensive "foot in the door" for young refugees and other migrants entering European VET and labour systems.