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Valuing diversity: guidance for labour market integration of migrants

4.1.2. Renewal of the integration agenda
Achieving the Europe 2020 targets requires solid effort from EU countries to
promote migrant population access to employment and education and training;
this applies especially in relation to the employment and education targets of
raising the employment rate of the population aged 20 to 64 to 75% and reducing
the share of early school leavers to 10%.
In 2011 the single permit directive (European Parliament and Council, 2011)
was adopted, establishing a set of fundamental rights for third-country workers
residing in the EU. This covers entry, access to the labour market, access to
social protection and access to advising and counselling services. In the same
year, a communication from the European Commission launched a renewed
European agenda for the integration of non-EU migrants (European Commission
2011b) which, while compromising with the common basic principles for
integration, calls for coordinated action from the states to respond to recent
trends and challenges: the prevailing low employment levels of migrants,
especially migrant women; the rising unemployment and high levels of
overqualification; the increasing risks of social exclusion; gaps in educational
achievement; public concerns over lack of integration of migrants.
Action is proposed in key areas addressing third-country migrants: assuring
the mastery of the receiving country’s language; increasing labour market
participation; increasing access and permanence in education and training;
bettering living conditions; assuring knowledge and effectiveness of rights and
obligations; improving multilevel cooperation in policy; cooperating with immigrant
countries of origin.
A European toolbox to support this action allows authorities in Member
States to choose the measures which are most likely to prove effective in their
context. European modules on migrant integration (European Commission,
2011e) were drafted, built on the experiences of Member States in three thematic
areas:
(a) introductory and language courses;
(b) strong commitment by the receiving society;
(c) active participation of migrants in all aspects of collective life. The draft
modules include several direct references to the potential role of guidance
activities.

The main European framework reference documents on guidance activities
are the Council resolutions of 2004 and 2008. The policy priorities defined in the
resolutions establish the principle of universal access to guidance services by all
citizens and argue for the need to enhance the autonomy of citizens, by
developing their CMS. The resolutions also make direct mention of the role

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