Newcomers@Work Strengthening the Employability of Young Refugee and Migrant NEETs

Project objectives

Newcomers@Work aims at supporting young refugee/migrant NEETs (Not [engaged] in Education, Employment or Training) with their insertion into the labour market, while facing both the employers’ lack of awareness and the scarcity of integrated job opportunities.

Target groups

The key target groups of the project are:

• Newly arrived migrants, refugees or asylum seekers aged between 18-25 years old who are not in education,employment or training (NEETs) and who have been living in the host country less than 5 years.
• Youth professionals working with refugee/migrant NEET youth.
• Employers who may offer employability opportunities to refugee/migrant young NEETs.

Results:

1. Improved local employment systems for migrants in the hosting countries, by creating a holistic support services interlinking local youth workers with employers.
2. Fostered transnational cooperation to transfer experience, knowledge and practices linked to the employment services putting youth workers as the bridge between young NEETs of refugee/migrant background with local employer.
3. Higher quality engagement and involvement of local employers, who will be supported in mentoring and employing migrants.

Added value

At local/ national level it is expected that the Newcomers@Work project will exert a significant impact on the provisions and services targeted and directed at young NEET migrants and refugees in Portugal, Romania, Greece, two regions of Poland, Italy and Luxembourg.

The challenges the project addresses and trascend national borders. The project’s approach, supported by multilingual results and well-targeted dissemination activities with a clear European dimension can have an impact at European level since it will provide solutions to a common problem.

Planned activities:

• Tailor-made curriculum for youth workers working with young refugee/migrants’ NEETs: development of four modules (1. The Needs of the NEETs; 2. Language and Digital Skills for Employability; 3. Soft/Life Skills for Employability; 4. Creating synergies and facilitate the delivery of learning) catered to support the training needs of youth professionals to effectively handle issues related to the employment and integration of newly arrived migrants.
• Digital toolbox for job mentoring: elaboration of tools to support employers in their job-mentoring with refugee/migrant. The role of the trainer and mentor who will assist these young people in the process of finding and keeping a job which is corresponds to their skills, knowledge and aspirations.
• Migrants’ Traineeship experience and transferrable guide: structured work-experience of migrants with their mentors within on-the-job training activities, following in the elaboration of
  a to-do guide for sustainability.