Press Release
Thursday January 28, 2010.EU project to boost young migrants' career prospects
The Immigrant Council of Ireland has joined forces with six other organisations to help young migrants maximise their career potential in their new home countries.
Through the project Pathways to Work: An Employment Upgrade Training Programme for Young Immigrants, the groups will develop a training pack to be used across the EU Member States aimed at facilitating greater access to training and better jobs.
Organisations in Italy, Northern Ireland, Poland, Spain and Greece also are taking part.
Funded by the European Commission through the Leonardo da Vinci Transfer of Innovation programme, the training pack’s benefits will include fostering a greater understanding of labour market trends and employment rights and promoting the host country’s training opportunities.
Immigrant Council of Ireland research and integration officer Fidèle Mutwarasibo said the project will develop a new training resource, combining classroom teaching and online content, after the main barriers faced by young migrants, aged between 18 and 30, in partner countries have been identified.
“Research indicates that migrants face specific barriers in the labour market, including prejudice and xenophobia, discrimination by employers and cultural differences in working practices and communication skills,” Mr Mutwarasibo said.
“This project and the course it develops aim to help overcome some of those barriers.”
The course will tailor learning materials originally developed by Belfast-based Springboard Opportunities Limited, the lead agency in the programme, to the needs of the participants.
Focus group interviews with 10 young migrants in five countries - Italy, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Poland and Spain – will be conducted. In addition, surveys of 20 young migrants seeking employment will be held in each of the countries.
Italy’s Conform Consorzio Formazione Manageriale, the Immigrant Council of Ireland, Spain’s Funacion Laboral del Metal, the University of Szczecin in Poland and Canice Consulting in the UK are the core partners in the project, while Athens-based iRed Institute for Rights Equality and Diversity is an associate partner.
For more information, please contact Ruth Evans on 087 067 3676.
EU project to boost young migrants' career prospects (PDF)