Page 112 - valuing-diversity-guidance-for-labour-market-integration-of-migrants

Valuing diversity: guidance for labour market integration of migrants

Another way of combating ethnicity-based segmentation is to improve the
quality of the labour market information to which immigrants have access prior to
their departure. This requires cooperation between receiving countries, immigrant
networks and originating countries. The most usual option is a bilateral
agreement between two countries, normally with the purpose of rationalising
flows according to skills demand.
Nine Member States analysed in this report (Belgium, Czech Republic,
Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia, the United
Kingdom) have reported bilateral cooperation agreements and projects with third
countries, aimed at temporary workers, students and trainees (European
migration network, 2011a). Many of these agreements reflect the need to
regulate the inflow, outflow and legal return of seasonal foreign work. They can
also finance (sponsor) temporary highly qualified work and studies (frequently
combined), the later frequently under youth mobility agreements or agreement
targeting specific sector needs; the health sector is the most frequent.
Germany has established contract worker agreement with 14 central and
eastern Europe states as well as with ex-Yugoslavian federation countries and
Turkey. These enable companies in partner EU Member States and third
countries to send employees to Germany for a limited duration for the purpose of
completing a work project in cooperation with a German company. Belgium,
Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and
the United Kingdom reported on their participation in the EU mobility partnerships
(mainly with eastern Europe) with the express aim of building up partner capacity
to provide targeted guidance to citizens who wish to migrate to their territory.
Another interesting tendency across Europe is a notable increase in bilateral
agreements with south-east Asian countries such as China, Taiwan and Korea.

4.5.1.2. Generating an evidence base on integration
One of the problems often highlighted by expert analysis of integration issues is
the lack of evidence on the operation and efficiency of labour market integration
measures. There is not enough documented evidence on the way integration
programmes are implemented, their results, the way they were staffed, their
weaknesses and key elements for success. When the information exists, it does
not follow any particular standard, which limits the comparability of practices and
their outcomes.
This problem derives, partly, from the fact that integration practices are
frequently project-based, without a stable framework. Although the bulk of
guidance activities for integration are in the frame of policy programmes, with
structured monitoring and accountability systems (such as youth guarantees,

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