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Valuing diversity: guidance for labour market integration of migrants

integration policy and require a debate about the part that guidance can play in
supporting social and economic integration.
They face particular challenges in integration, especially in countries where
they have weak networks and a low knowledge of the receiving country language
and culture. These challenges can be especially strong for young migrants and
women, who frequently have weaker education and labour market outcomes.
Immigrant communities with overrepresentation of low-skilled workers are
especially affected by education disengagement, unemployment and temporary
employment. The case of Maghrebian immigrants in Spain and Italy is a clear
example of these dynamics.
Guidance services can be provided to prospective immigrants ahead of their
departure, providing valuable information on entry procedures, the labour market
situation and the characteristics of their potential destinations. This information is
vital to realistic and effective transitions across countries. It can be available in
several languages, make use of ICT tools, and be inserted in advice and
counselling services in departure countries.
Guidance services are also to the fore in receiving country mechanisms that
inform and support the adaptation of migrants to new cultures, social
environments, norms, labour conventions, and education and training systems.
The relatively flexible nature of guidance interventions allows for their integration
in many critical contexts to migrants (immigrant admission services, employment
services, VET organisations), with strong potential for customisation and
adaptability to client group characteristics.
Guidance services can enable arriving immigrants easy access to services
which allow for the prompt recognition of their qualifications and for the validation
of their prior learning and work experiences. These processes aid access to local
qualifications and jobs, as well as opening up broad training and mobility
opportunities. Guidance can also assist people in identifying learning
opportunities and jobs, and assist career planning. If supported by appropriate
counselling methodologies and career training, guidance can promote the
development of key skills for learning and work, fostering progressive autonomy
in career decisions. It can also help individuals establish vocational identities,
which can bridge between their values and world vision and the host culture’s
perspectives.
If developed in a holistic, empowering framework, guidance activities will
promote the awareness individuals have of their own potential and the way they
can explore that potential in the host country environment. They should be able
to understand their own skills, needs, aspirations and to search and interpret
information that allows them to identify career opportunities. The desirable
outcome of guidance processes is highly adaptable professionals, who can make

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