Equal - Digital Repository

Background

Despite possessing a great wealth of skills, qualifications and experiences, refugees/migrant workers are often only able to find low skilled work with few opportunities for further development. Unemployment rates range between 75-90%, with underemployment also prevalent. Employers are often reluctant to employ this group, even when experiencing skills shortages.

Aim

The purpose of the Progress-GB Development Partnership is to pilot and disseminate innovative approaches that will support employers to overcome skill shortages by promoting inclusive work practices, and to address the needs of refugee and migrant workers to develop and adapt their skills for the UK labour market through a range of lifelong learning opportunities. The DP has been spending over £5 million between 2004 and 2007.
 

Objectives

The objectives of the DP are to:

• Promote inclusive work practices among employers and skill sectors, particularly in skills shortages areas, to enable them to benefit from, use and develop the untapped talents of refugees and other migrants
  
  
• Provide support for employees from refugee and migrant communities, particularly those who are experiencing underemployment or who are vulnerable to exclusion from the labour market, including the promotion of learning opportunities to adapt and develop existing and new skills in line with UK accreditation systems.
  
  
• Develop and pilot new and innovative approaches to the accreditation of prior learning (APL) and work based learning for those whose initial education and training was undertaken outside the UK, including the provision of literacy, language, numeracy and IT.
  
  
• Establish an online and telephone-based advice and information service for migrant workers available in at least 3 languages new to the National Learning Advice Line
  
  
• Pilot the development of partnerships between employment agencies, employer organisations, trade unions, education providers and voluntary organisations to contribute towards promoting inclusive working practices
  
  
• Engage in training and awareness raising activities to build capacity within mainstream organisations to support the needs of refugees and migrants
  
  
• Present positive images of employment of refugees and migrants to assist employers in overcoming prejudice in the work place
  
  
• Contribute towards a number of policy developments, including supporting the integration of refugees and new migrants, raising the general and basic skill levels of adults, and improving the design of vocational education and training relevant to both labour market needs and the needs of individuals.

Target Groups

Refugees, employers

The lead body, NIACE, was a partner in ASSET UK.

Information for Transnational partnerships

Action 2: June 2007
Action 3: December 2007

Progress GB emerged from ASSET UK, a Round 1 Theme I DP working with asylum seekers and led by the Refugee Council. NIACE was a partner in ASSET UK and managed a project in the East Midlands. NIACE established a new partnership with a broader focus on the wider community of migrant workers. The partnership is building on some of the ASSET UK work, such as skills audits, and includes another partner from ASSET UK, Sheffield College.

This DP intends to contribute to the creation of an environment whereby refugees and migrant workers are employed at their appropriate level.  Impact will be at several levels:  Government Migration Policy will need to remove the pressure to take any job irrespective of level and ensure people have support to find the appropriate level of employment; learning providers will need to be aware of the learning entitlements of international learners, practitioners will need to have the specialist skills to deliver vocational ESOL, employers will need to be clear about entitlements to work.  Stereotypes of migrant workers need to be challenged at all levels.

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