The LangWork project developed inclusive working practices for international educators and professional training. We aimed at developing methodology and tools for facilitating the entry of linguistically vulnerable young people from international backgrounds into the labour market, and through this, their integration with the society. We also targeted those who decide whom to hire, since a lack of courage to hire applicants that do not fit in the ‘normal’ applicant profile overlaps with a lack of skills to address their specific needs. Translanguaging is a practical tool that allows all participants of the education process to use several languages in communication. Translanguaging ensures that learning and teaching is enriched via more active interaction and better understanding of any topic, whether it be language, math or brainstorming at work. Using multilingual practices, translanguaging promotes diversity and inclusion, and manifests social justice.
The ability to communicate efficiently with other people is considered as a key professional skill when a candidate is interviewed for a job. Communication skills are also essential to create a positive environment and productive task-solving via collaborative teamwork. Often, all professional technology knowledge and skills would be ignored if a person in front of an interviewer could not demonstrate proficiency in the organization’s “working” language. Therefore, individuals with limited (that is mismatched) linguistic repertoires are disadvantaged in the labour market, even though they may have the necessary skills to do the same job in another linguistic context. This issue leads to a situation where people with international background are unable to use their skills, and are forced to work in jobs that offer little networking possibilities for career advancement or upward social mobility. This phenomenon is also known as “brain waste”. Due to intensive migration around the world, it is not sustainable anymore to divide languages into dominant and minority. We must broaden the view. Therefore, there is a need to develop a new methodology that would let people employ their full linguistic repertoire in multicultural encounters.