Promising practice in the area of labour market/social integration of refugees Summary fiche:

Transcription

1 Promising practice in the area of labour market/social integration of refugees Summary fiche: The purpose of this template is to gather practices in the field of employment/social affairs submitted by European countries for the purposes of showcasing on DG EMPL's website, and possible mutual learning. These practices are promising or have proven to be successful in the country concerned, according to its national administration. The European Commission does not have a position on the policies or measures. Field (fields marked with a * Title of the policy or measure (Original language)* Accélérer l intégration des réfugiés Programme Accelair Title of the policy or measure (English)* Accelerate refugees integration process Programme Accelair Country* France Name of the responsible body* Forum réfugiés-cosi Geographical scope of the responsible body Regional scope: southeast quarter of France, with a focus on the Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes region Name(s) and roles of other organisations involved (partners/subcontractors) * Forum réfugiés-cosi: coordinator and main implementer Local public authorities & institutions: Préfecture du Rhône, Métropole de Lyon, Conseil régional, OFII, Pôle emploi ABC HLM: gathering of social landlords which provides up to 245 apartments each year Adoma: accommodation provider for our target group ALFA3A: accommodation provider for our target group & implementing partner in the Ain department Professional and linguistic training centres; Employers Start year of implementation* 2002 End year of implementation Ongoing project EU policy relevance National labour market/social context* The Accelair programme was born out of the realisation that: - refugees' situation gets more and more precarious because of the labour opportunities they encounter (or lack thereof) - the refugees receiving the RSA (revenue of active solidarity) are accompanied in a way that does not allow them to mobilise their skills or to work while learning French January This template builds on DG EMPL's database of labour market practices 1

2 - refugees that do not live in centres are rarely included in the housing system put in place for asylum seekers - the rehousing and aid vary considerably according to the Department Councils - integration mechanisms for the general population are numerous but they do not necessarily apply to refugees. The majority of refugees have low income which makes their access to private housing difficult. The Accelair programme turned to social housing in order to find housing adapted to the needs and resources of the accompanied refugees. Local hiring sectors are low-skilled sectors requiring specific skills and a good level of French. Access to the labour market is therefore more complicated for qualified BPI or for non-french speakers (respectively 37% and 81% of the refugees accompanied in 2015). This is compounded by an unfavourable context in which foreign qualifications are not recognised and BPI rarely able to present proof of their education or professional experiences and possible discriminations can arise. In addition to their partial command of the French language and the nonrecognition of their professional past, refugees face several other difficulties during their integration process: misrepresentations of the labour market, no network, little knowledge of job-search techniques, etc. Besides, with the economic crisis and the increase of unemployment level over the last decade in the Rhône department to reach 9.5% for the third trimester of 2015 beneficiaries of international protection find themselves competing with non-refugee unemployed persons for the same jobs. Policy area(s)* Access to labour market, skills recognition, language training, access to housing, access to health care Specific policy, labour market or social problem being addressed* The programme aims at building bridges with ordinary law measures to maximise integration for Accelair s beneficiaries, engaging in partnerships with public services for employment, vocational training institutes and local and national businesses. It can also happen that ordinary law is not able to provide an answer to match some of the specific needs of beneficiaries of international protection. To overcome this obstacle, Accelair develops specific training actions, for instance French as a Foreign Language (FFL) classes to learn specialised vocabulary related to hiring sectors. Aims and objectives of the policy or measure* The programme s objectives are: - all beneficiaries effectively access social rights to which they are entitled, including social allowances (Revenu de solidarité active) - all beneficiaries are accompanied for the definition of their professional project and implementation of necessary steps to achieve it - this is done in a coordination between labour, training and housing policies Yearly quantitative objectives are: January This template builds on DG EMPL's database of labour market practices 2

3 - all adults able to work are accompanied, including 200 in the framework of the RSA (professional support delegated by local authorities to the programme) measures of professional or linguistic training are entered work contracts are signed The actions in the framework of this programme are based on the existing policies in terms of access to housing and labour. Accelair aims at creating policies that fill in the gaps in the existing legislative landscape, and at raising awareness among local actors and to offer them help in adapting their actions to refugees. Summary Accelair offers beneficiaries of international protection an individualised and reinforced support to access employment or vocational training through a team of specialised advisors. Actions are directed to beneficiaries of international protection themselves and to employment and training stakeholders. Main activities/actions underpinning the policy or measure* For beneficiaries of international protection: - Guidance towards vocational or linguistic training and employment: skills assessment, linguistic training, development of a training/career plan, job-search techniques, networking, funding of specific trainings, etc. - Assistance within the workplace for the duration of the contract (or during the trial period) For employment and training stakeholders: - Awareness-raising for businesses, public services, etc. on the rights of our beneficiaries - Support to businesses to hire our beneficiaries, among others through the technical committee on employment - Provision of interpreters on demand - Promotion of specific measures for people under 25; who are not eligible to the RSA For housing: there is a group agreement with social housing institutions that dedicates a quota of housing to refugees. The convention is divided in: - The preparation group to the technical housing committee, that detects problems linked to housing of refugees and suggest solutions - The technical committee; that follows-up on housing attributions and establishes priorities and strategies. - Accelair also organises awareness raising events for landlords to get to know refugee issues. Specific measures to address the gaps of the ordinary law: - FFL classes focusing on specific professions to acquire specialised vocabulary - FFL classes dedicated to illiterate persons using a tailored teaching technique Geographical scope of policy or measure* Beginning: Lyon Metropolitan area, Rhône and Ain departments 2008: the immigration Minister asked Forum réfugiés-cosi to transfer its January This template builds on DG EMPL's database of labour market practices 3

4 method and knowledge from the Accelair programme to a national level. The goal was to have a legal obligation of accompanying refugees' integration in housing and the labour market. The organisation therefore accompanies departments, on a voluntary basis, providing its experience and knowledge in a mentoring spirit. The goal is to use the existing policies and limit the changes and additions so that the adaptation is as smooth as possible. The process therefore requires the full cooperation and willingness of the candidate departments. After 3 departments pilot in 2008, more than 15 departments asked the Forum réfugiés to help them develop their own projects. Target groups* Beneficiaries of international protection: refugees and holders of subsidiary protection; more specifically, everyone who need to be accompanied in their employment and housing research. This is a long term project. However, there are two conditions to fulfil: - the recipients must be residents of the Rhône department or live in a temporary accommodation centre (TAC) in Rhône-Alpes - the recipients must have obtained the refugee status for less than a year Outputs and outcomes of the policy or measure Accelair provides support to around 70-80% of new beneficiaries of international protection in the Rhône department each year. Between 2002 and 2014, Accelair accompanied more than 6,300 beneficiaries of international protection. More than 2,150 leases and more than 4,500 trainings and contracts were signed (2,800 work contracts, 1,700 vocational and linguistic trainings). Management and implementation arrangements Key challenges* Main challenges of the programme that are linked to access to the labour market are, among others: - The growing part of non-francophone population among our beneficiaries, combined to the decrease of hours of French lessons provided by the public body in charge of integration (OFII) - The limited mobility of our beneficiaries who don t possess a valid driving-license or a car, which restricts their job searching area - The constant increase of beneficiaries of international protection in the area of implementation, in a context of budgetary restraint, which forces us to lighten our support to make place for everybody with the same numbers of advisors. Key conditions for success* The programme wouldn t have been this successful without political and financial support from local and national authorities. Housing and employment stakeholders first engaged with us thanks to this support. Financial support from European funds has been also essential: it represents more than 50% of our annual budget. Partnerships are also vital: most of our work consist in building bridges with ordinary law measures. Therefore, public and private asylum and January This template builds on DG EMPL's database of labour market practices 4

5 integration stakeholders must be privileged partners. Outreach, communication and awareness-raising play a big role in mobilising appropriate organisations and institutions to work with us for a better integration of beneficiaries of international protection. The added value of Accellair: - a quicker access of refugees to employment and housing - an overall vision of integration issues thanks to the centralisation of information - an innovative cooperation based on partnership conventions signed with the other actors - the territorialisation allowing a clear visibility of the action by the target groups and by the actors and decision-makers - for refugees: the availability of a specialised support by trained professionals who know their problems and can navigate the system - a long-term vision because of a partnership of all the actors in the field Source of funding and Resources used European funding: European Social Fund ( ), European Refugee Fund ( ), Asylum, Migration & Integration Fund (since 2014) National funding: Ministry of Interior Local funding: Conseil général du Rhône/Métropole de Lyon Private funding: national foundations The programme currently employs 27 persons (1 deputy director, 3 heads of service, 5 administrative workers, 11 social workers, 6 job counsellors, 1 project manager) Method and type of assessment Reporting is made every year to our funders including: qualitative and quantitative assessment, foreseeable challenges and possible solutions. Duration and frequency of the assessment Further information on the assessment Links to the website, background information and assessment material* Contact details* Jean-Baptiste Willaume, Deputy Director, Integration: jbwillaume@forumrefugies.org Jean-François Ploquin, Director general: direction@forumrefugies.org Keywords Labour market, skills recognition, language training, housing, health care January This template builds on DG EMPL's database of labour market practices 5