Skills2Work: Valuing Skills of Beneficiaries of International Protection (2016 - 2017)

Geographical Coverage: Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Duration: January 2016 – December 2017

Status: Completed

Summary: This project aims to promote early and sustainable employment of refugees through improved support on skill validation in the asylum procedures and integration service provision, including non-formal and in-formal learning, and strengthened employer involvement from the private sector. Through an assessment of European approaches and consultations with relevant national stakeholders, the best practices and success stories from migrants and businesses across Europe focusing on strengthening skills validation and early job-matching for asylum seekers and refugees will be identified. An interactive, online platform will be developed to serve reception officials and integration service providers, asylum seekers and refugees, and potential and actual employers in early skill validation and job-matching.

The website www.FromSkills2Work.eu offers information on services, organizations, projects and initiatives that support the identification of skills, knowledge and competencies of beneficiaries of international protection with a focus on the participating EU member states. The platform also shows employment success stories from migrants and their employers.

IOM in Hungary, in partnership with Menedék - Hungarian Association for Migrants, hosted a national event on 13 July 2017 for around 30 migration and labour market experts from over 10 different organizations, to promote the Skills2Work project, strengthen relations with stakeholders, test the FromSkills2Work digital platform and discuss labour market integration challenges in Hungary.

Download: Success Stories - From skills to work: Advice from migrants and employers