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Valuing diversity: guidance for labour market integration of migrants

(b) immediate registered outcomes, in terms of enrolment in training courses or
obtaining internship/job positions;
(c) short-term follow-up of clients (normally for a period no longer than six
months);
(d) assessment of skill levels (generally career skills);
(e) Impact on drop-out rates/rates of success in job applications/other impact
indicators;
(f) drop-out rate from integration programmes;
(g) satisfaction of clients (individuals and firms) with programmes (structured
questionnaires and unstructured feedback);
(h) consultation/feedback of stakeholder organisations;
(i) internal questionnaires/opinions of organisers;
(j) focus groups.
When outputs and outcomes are documented, the levels of satisfaction and
objective results of the practices are markedly positive. While reading through the
evaluative elements of practices highlights their diversity, whichever type of
assessment is done shows expressive positive results. Clients generally feel that
the practices have improved their employability, autonomy and self-confidence.
There also is a reasonable body of proof indicating positive outcomes in
obtaining internships, employment, achieving higher qualifications and following
career tracks outside traditional gender roles. The most commonly suggested
improvements are in two areas: better coordination and improvement of follow-up
of clients, so to secure results.
The preferred way to introduce cultural adaptability is through multicultural
training of guidance practitioners or using immigrant practitioners. We did not find
substantial evidence of methods and instruments being adapted to the cultural
characteristics or initiatives of the client group; it is left to the practitioners to
adapt the implementation of the methods to the individual clients or to set up
pattern interventions for groups. In some cases the practitioners and other
participants in the process received targeted training; in others, they had
multicultural training in the past. The contents of such multicultural training are
variable and not always clear, ranging from general awareness-raising seminars,
to training on specificities in value systems of other cultures and the development
of specific attitudes and skills.
A number of interesting examples of counselling, advising and mentorship
activities have been developed using trained practitioners and other participants
with immigrant backgrounds, such as the meeting point guidance centre in
Austria, the IQ network validation centre in Berlin, mentorships by older students
in the Artveldehogeschool in Belgium or the training programme by immigrant

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