Page 148 - valuing-diversity-guidance-for-labour-market-integration-of-migrants

Valuing diversity: guidance for labour market integration of migrants

Recognition of the qualifications and validation of the skills of immigrants are
growing, with a strong role for guidance. Many immigrants find jobs outside their
area and level of expertise not being able to employ their skills fully due to
unrecognised qualifications. The process of recognition of foreign qualifications
and diplomas is a fundamental step in the integration of immigrants and one
being generally promoted across Europe (the IQ network case in Berlin is an
example). Guidance exerts a fundamental part in this process by providing
reliable information about connected processes, diplomas, potential follow-up
tracks and the impact of qualifications in the labour market. In turn, validation
processes are being used in various ways to promote learning, social and
economic integration and structure career plans with a diversified resource to
guidance methods. The Centre for the Validation of Occupational Skills, in
Malmo, Sweden and PiA Frankfurt are examples.
ICT can play a positive role in guidance for migrant integration, but their
impact is relative. Fundamental limitations are that ICT are not always accessible
to immigrants either because the websites have not been translated into their
languages or because internet access on arrival is not easy. There are,
nevertheless, interesting experiences, such as the migrant portal for integration
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(see case-study), in Italy, or the Catalan website for integration in Spain ( ).
In spite of its limitations as a pure e-guidance tool, the internet can be a
good ground for exchange of experiences and practices among migrants and
migrant associations. Mentorship dynamics can be easily enabled through
internet forums which can be regularly monitored and assisted by experienced
professionals. The internet has the further advantage of preserving the anonymity
of the users, which can be very important if the migrant has an undefined legal
status or is subject to community pressures. The establishment of free telephone
services in several languages can also be important.
Mentor programmes are successfully used in many countries to address all
types of integration problems. Such programmes can make use of immigrant role
models and serve a number of purposes: support linguistic and cultural
integration (as with the Artveldehogeschool tutorship programme through
university students); develop CMS among the unemployed; deconstruct and
counteract career self-stereotyping, as occurs in the Malmo Validation Centre,
with the intervention of qualified women; stimulate entrepreneurship; enable
career networking, a strong component of the tutoring scheme of the French
CED; and establish qualifying learning paths.
Advocacy is a growing function in guidance for immigrants, with enabling
and advocating activities either offered by public authorities or, more frequently,

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( ) www.acollida.gencat.cat [accessed 3.4.2014].

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