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Valuing diversity: guidance for labour market integration of migrants

Table 2 Most common guidance activities

Signposting Ensuring that people have accurate information about all the relevant
agencies and the guidance services they provide and are therefore able
to select the most adequate sources for their needs. This means using
understandable, accessible language, if possible in the languages of the
migrant communities, and making the information available in services,
communities and websites accessed by the client groups.

Informing Providing information about opportunities concerning work, education,
training or other, without discussing the merits or relevance of each
option. The use of clear language, adaptation of physical expression,
vocal cadence and placement of information can be of particular
importance for migrant services. The information must also respond to
the needs of an immigrant individual which will likely include legislation,
administrative procedures, labour market information.

Advising Helping individuals and groups to interpret information and choose the
most appropriate options. Cultural relativity starts to be important here to
establish critical bridges between different culturally-based valuing
systems. Advising must incorporate care for specific world-view of
migrant groups and the way it can articulate with local systems.
Counselling Working with individuals to help them discover, clarify, assess and
understand their own experience and to explore the alternatives
available, as well as strategies for implementation. Counselling must
allow for the individual to contextualise his/her career path and
understand his/her position relative to the specific obstacles of her/his
own migrant experience, allowing the development of self-confidence
and stability, overcoming any feelings of inadequacy and self-
stereotyping. Narrative interviews are a method frequently used to this
end (Savickas, 1995; 2003; Admunson, 2003) in which individuals, with
the help of their counsellor, slowly reconstruct their career paths,
acquiring a sense of perspective and increasing reflexivity in career
decision-making. Role-play activities can also be useful, as well as
intercultural conflict resolution.

Mentoring Offering individuals and groups support to help them overcome personal
barriers and realise their potential. Mentoring activities are highly
influenced by the skills, values, systems and personality of the mentor,
as well as his/her ability to act as role model. Mentoring aimed at
immigrants must be adjusted to the value frame of reference of the
targeted culture. Providing culturally non-communicative role models,
potentially offensive or meaningless for other cultures, will result in a
non-effective and awkward experience. Successful mentoring is often
achieved selecting role models from the respective immigrant
communities (‘successful immigrants’).

Assessing Helping individuals to obtain an organised and structured understanding
of their personal, educational and vocational development to allow for
informed judgments concerning the relevance of opportunities
presented (in work, training, etc.). There is an array of assessment
methods, such as psychological tests (general aptitude test battery

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