INTACT E-Book

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 413

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

There is already a great shortage of skilled workers in the EU, increasing due to demographic developments. Through smooth integration into working life, refugees and migrants can make important contributions to overcome the shortage of skilled workers. The successful integration into the job market is limited by a high level of certificate belief in most host countries. Particularly difficult is the assessment and recognition of informally acquired competences which have already been acquired in several years of professional experience. It is at this informal level that refugees would like to continue in the host country. The project pursued this innovative, promising approach of evaluating the actual competencies to achieve a promising integration of refugees into working life in the participating countries as quickly as possible by 1. Identifying competencies, skills and aptitudes through a two-stage assessment procedure. 2. Focused on this, completion of a further training programme with an official educational qualification so that a recognized professional certificate can be obtained. 3.Individual coaching with placement in permanent jobs in SMEs. The project INTACT, was dedicated to the integration of newly arrived migrants into working life. The project was carried out from 15. January 2018 to 14. January 2021 by seven partners from five countries. This publication describes the used methods and experiences of the project.

Leseprobe

Content

Foreword

1 | Regional action alliances and international cooperation

1.1 | Information and Cooperation

1.2 | Continuation of the regional and international cooperation

2. |Individual competence assessments and integration planning

2.1 |Analysis of existing Tools

2.2 |Development of an assessment procedure

2.3 |Tests and Implementations

2.31 |Implementation Report Italy

2.32 |Implementation Report Poland

2.4 |Evaluation of Tests

2.41 |Evaluation-Concept

2.42 |Evaluation Report

2.5 |Best Practices

2.51 |Recommendations for future Uses

2.52| Application Notes for Competency Assessment

3. |Further vocational trainings

3.1 |Education programmes

3.11 |Business Administration, Finance and Accounting

3.12 | Digitalization and Industry 4.0

3.13 | Energy efficiency and renewable energies

3.13.1 | Concept of the training programme

3.13.2 | Examination regulations, evaluations and recognition

3.14 |Workplace safety training

3.15 |Safety and health at work

3.16 |Business start-up course

3.2 |Implementation of further vocational training

3.21 |Implementation in Austria

3.22 |Implementation in Germany

3.23 |Implementation in Italy

3.24 |Implementation in Poland

3.3 |Evaluation of further vocational training programmes

3.31 |Evaluation Concept

3.32 |Evaluation Reports

4. |Coaching and Integration programs

4.1 |Guidelines for Coaching

4.2 |Train the Trainer Course

4.21 |Train the Trainer Curriculum

4.22 |Implementation Train the Trainer Course

4.23 |Evaluation Concept and Report

4.3 |Implementation of Coaching and Integration programs

4.31 |Implementation in Austria

4.31.1 |Follow-up training courses

4.31.2 |Implementation of the Coaching Program

4.32 |Implementation in Germany

4.33 |Implementation in Italy

4.34 | Toolbox for small and medium-sized enterprises

4.4 | Evaluation of Coaching and Integration Programmes

4.41| Evaluation Concept

4.42| Evaluation Results and Application Notes

4.5 |Evaluation and Consultations in Poland

4.51 |Use of the further education programmes in Poland

4.52 |Use of the coaching and integration programmes in Poland

5. | Policy Recommendations on the integration of refugees

Other Publications by the Baltic Sea Academy

Members of the Hanse-Parlament

Members of the Baltic Sea Academy

Foreword

The reception and integration of refugees in the European Union is a major challenge. The project was dedicated to the integration of newly arrived migrants into working life.

In the European Union, and especially in the participating project countries, there is already a great shortage of skilled workers, which will grow strongly in the future for demographic reasons. Through smooth integration into working life, refugees can make important contributions to overcoming the shortage of skilled workers, which is currently the most limiting factor to growth.

As there is a high level of certificate belief in the host countries, for example in Germany, many migrants are considered unskilled workers with poor chances of placement on the labour market. New training courses, necessary retraining and time-consuming recognition procedures make the integration process difficult and lengthy. If the refugees have completed vocational training in their home countries, problems often arise in the host country with the recognition of this training because certificates are missing, or the qualifications do not correspond to the training regulations of the host country or they have completed or broken off a course of study which cannot be recognised or continued in the host country.

Particularly difficult is the assessment and recognition of informally acquired competences which have already been acquired in several years of professional experience. It is at this level that refugees would like to continue in the host country. However, due to the lack of recognition, the need for extensive retraining or even a complete new vocational training, these refugees then have to start all over again, as it were, at an advanced age. If, on the other hand, refugees have sound work experience and professional knowledge, they can be quickly integrated into working life in a comparably short period of time in the host country without recognised initial vocational training through continuing vocational training. The project pursued this innovative, promising approach and the outstanding goal of achieving the integration of refugees into working life in the participating countries as far and as quickly as possible by

Identifying competences, skills and aptitudes through a two-stage assessment procedure.

Focused on this, completion of a further training programme with an official educational qualification, so that a recognised professional certificate can be obtained.

Individual coaching with placement in permanent jobs in SMEs.

In summary, the project pursued the following objectives:

Development, testing, evaluation and implementation of innovative methods and procedures for competence assessment and high-quality, comprehensive continuing vocational training with officially recognised continuing vocational training qualification for refugees.

Development and implementation of programmes for coaching, placement and familiarisation of the trained refugees in companies.

Creation of an integrative environment and smooth cooperation through the development and permanent establishment of regional action alliances for the identification, qualification and integration of refugees.

Transfer of all project results to 70 educational institutions and bodies responsible for vocational training from 13 countries and achievement of a high utilisation rate. These institutions were involved in the implementation as associated partners from the very beginning of the project.

Involvement of business organisations and bodies responsible for vocational education and training from countries which have so far rejected the integration of refugees to bring about sustainable behavioural changes based on the project results.

The project was carried out from 15. January 2018 to 14. January 2021 by seven partners from five countries. The following list clearly shows the participating institutions and their representatives within this project:

Hanse- Parlament (Lead Partner), Hamburg, Germany

Dr. Jürgen Hogeforster

Mira Alexander

Christian Wildt

University of Cooperative Education Hamburg, Germany

Prof. Dr. Joachim von Kiedrowski

Prof. Dr. Uwe Schaumann

Training and Technology Centre of the Schwerin Chamber of Crafts,

Germany

Jens Dettmann

Diana Warnk

Edeltraud Pepper

Warmia and Mazury Chamber of Crafts and Small Business in Olsztyn,

Poland

Karolina Knowska-Siwkowska

Justyna Kaczorek

Anton Gorski

Mieczysław Królicki

Consortium for Transfer, Technology and Innovation, Treviso, Italy

Elena Zanatta

Marco Brunelli

Elisabetta Berti

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Pori, Finland

Dr. Sirpa Sandelin

Dr. Kari Lilja

Institute for Applied Industrial Research, Vienna, Austria

Heidrun Bichler-Ripfel

Sophie Bernet

Viktoria Greiner

We would like to thank all our partners for their great commitment and the excellent cooperation.

1 | Regional action alliances and international cooperation

1.1 | Information and Cooperation

Overview: Regional Action Alliances

In Austria, Germany, Finland and Italy, establishment of regional action alliances "Integration and qualification of refugees" with relevant actors, for example economic chambers, vocational education and training institutions, universities, public and private organisations for the integration of migrants, public institutions for the registration and support of refugees, employment authorities, etc. In each country, the alliances are officially founded during the course of the project, expanded to include other relevant institutions, systematically built up and further developed.

In each country, one project partner develops and coordinates the action alliances. Additionally, this partner also develops and implements rules for collaboration, instruments of cooperation and providing information, etc. The alliances meet on a regular basis, accompany the entire project implementation by providing advice and the individual members take part in project workshops and two international consultation and transfer conferences. Different members of the alliance are involved in certain project tasks.

The Lead Partner develops and ensures cross-border exchange of experience and information as well as cooperation between the action alliances of the four countries. The Lead Partner also involves and informs the 65 transfer recipients and implementation partners from 13 countries who participate as associated partners in the implementation of the project.

Until the end of the project, each regional alliance develops a business plan for the continuation of its work and cooperation after the end of the project. The coordinated business plans are approved and agreed upon by the members in form of a written memorandum of understanding.

The Memoranda of Understanding, concepts, procedures, instruments, experiences, etc. are prepared and complemented by detailed application notes in the form of blueprints as best practice for use in other regions and countries.

Individual Activities of the Regional Action Alliances

Establishment

In Austria, Germany, Finland and Italy, regional action alliances "Integration and Qualification of Refugees" are established with various actors, part of which are already involved in the project as associated partners.

Action Alliance Schwerin, Germany: Establishment and operation by partner Chamber of Crafts Schwerin, support by partner Vocational Academy Hamburg

Action Alliance Satakunta, Finland: Establishment and operation by partner Satakunta University of Applied Sciences

Action Alliance Treviso, Italy: Establishment and operation by partner Technology and Innovation Transfer Scarl

Action Alliance Wien. Austria: Establishment and operation by partner Institut für angewandte Gewerbeforschung

Additions and Expansion

In the course of the project lifetime, the alliances should be expanded, and other relevant actors added to it so that 6 – 10 institutions participate in each alliance.

Cooperation and Information

Systematic development of alliances as well as development and use of information provision and cooperation tools.

Participation in the Project

Accompaniment of project implementation through the alliances and participation of individual members in work packages 3 - 6

International Cooperation

Under the leadership of Partner Hanse-Parlament, ensuring the cross-border exchange of information and experience as well as cooperation with 70 associated partners from 13 countries.

Memoranda of Understanding

Development and adoption of memoranda of understanding, including business plans for the continuation of the four action alliances and international cooperation after the end of the project.

Best Practice

Preparation of the results and experiences as best practice as well as adding detailed application notes in the form of blueprints.

Proposals and Suggestions for Cooperation and Information

Work Meetings

Holding an inaugural assembly

At the invitation of the respective coordinating partner, an inaugural assembly with presentation of the project, discussion of objectives and purposes of the action alliance, ensuring participation in individual project activities, agreements on further cooperation, gathering proposals for the expansion of the alliance, objectives and purposes of international exchange, etc.

Regular working meetings

At the invitation of the respective coordinating partner, regular working meetings, during the project period at least every six months (a total of at least 5 - 6 working meetings).

Bilateral cooperation

Cooperation with the individual members of the regional action alliances will vary in intensity. The main purpose of the alliances’ working meetings is coordination and exchange of information. Individual tasks are handled on the initiative of the respective coordinating partner within the framework of bilateral cooperation with individual members of the action alliances.

Participation in Individual Project Activities

Various members of the regional action alliances must play an active role in individual project tasks, especially in the course of the following activities:

Work Package 3 Recruitment of refugees

Recruitment of refugees for the assessment of competences and professional skills, for example through public and private organisations for the integration of migrants, public institutions for registration and support of refugees, employment services, etc.

Work Package 3 Testing of electronic tool and assessment procedure

Participation in the testing of the tool and assessment procedure with 25 refugees each in Austria, Germany and Italy.

Participation in individual coaching and preparation of individual integration and qualification plans, e.g., as experts and interview partners during the assessment (e.g., employment services).

Further support, qualification and integration of refugees who will not be involved in further project activities after the assessment.

Work Package 4 Needs-based conduction of language course

Providing language training by certain members of the action alliance at their own expense or as a subcontractor or as an associated organisation with billing of costs via time sheets.

Carrying out the language training on behalf of the employment services or with support from other institutions.

Participation as teachers.

Work Package 4 Testing of three further vocational training courses

If necessary, additional participants can be recruited by individual members of the action alliance, so that at least 15 participants are guaranteed for each training.

Work Package 5 Train the Trainer programme

In Germany, participation in the test of the Train the Trainer programme.

Work Package 5 Testing of coaching and integration programmes

If necessary, additional participants can be recruited by individual members of the Action Alliance so that at least 15 participants are guaranteed in the coaching and integration programme in each region.

Advice on the implementation of coaching and training programmes.

Performing coaching and integration tasks.

Arranging internships in companies.

Job placements in companies.

Further assistance, qualification and integration of refugees who cannot be placed in jobs by the respective project partner.

Work Package 6 Transfer and dissemination

Participation of the members of the regional action alliances in transfer and dissemination tasks.

Work Package 6 Development of a strategic programme

Providing advice in the preparation of the strategic programme and integrating it into political decision-making processes.

Written Exchange of Information

Publication of a newsletter or electronic / written information on current project developments, interim results, developments in other project countries etc. at least every three months.

Sending drafts of outputs (products) with a request for comments.

Sending of all finished outputs (products).

Participation in Workshops, Conferences and Tests

Invitation and participation in project workshops and transfer and consultation conferences that take place in the respective region.

Participation as speakers at transfer and consultation conferences.

Invitation and participation in Train the Trainer course.

Invitation as an observer at tests of measures in the respective region.

When members of the regional action alliances participate in events in other regions, their travel expenses will be billed as experts within the travel expenses budgets of the respective project partner.

International Exchange

Invitation of members of the Hanse-Parlament and Baltic Sea Academy from the region to working meetings of the action alliances.

Exchange of information and experience within the framework of the international consultation and transfer conferences in Olsztyn and in Treviso.

Publication of at least newsletters by Partner Hanse-Parlament.

Ongoing communication of questions wishes, needs etc. for international exchange to Partner Hanse-Parlament.

1.2 | Continuation of the regional and international cooperation

International Cooperation

The implementation of the project required intensive cooperation at local and regional level with organisations in the participating countries that are dedicated to the inte-gration and qualification of refugees. To this end, intensive cooperation was carried out and expanded in Germany and Finland within the framework of already existing regional alliances and action alliances in which the project partners in the respective countries were already involved. In Austria and Italy, regional action alliances were newly developed by the respective project partners.

The cooperation within the framework of these regional action alliances was very effective and of decisive importance for the success of the project. The project partners also ensured an ongoing exchange of information and experience between the four regional action alliances.

A further aim of the project was to expand international cooperation and to put it on a broad regional basis by including other countries. Through an extended cross-border exchange of information and experience, the four regional action groups benefit from the knowledge, results, best practices etc. from a larger number of very different countries. Conversely, the cooperation partners from the other countries receive information, experience, best practices from the four-regional action alliances and all project results. This cooperation encourages them to develop action alliances for the integration of refugees in their own countries/regions or to expand ex-isting alliances and to implement all project results as intensively as possible.

This international cooperation and cross-border exchange of information and experience was realised in the project through the intensive involvement of 70 associated partners from 13 countries. These are the members of the Hanse-Parlament, namely

a) 50 Chambers of commerce and other institutions of vocational training and SME promotion

They represent the companies where refugees can get a job.

They are particularly interested in recruiting successor entrepreneurs, managers, and specialists for their member companies.

In order to make a decisive contribution to overcoming the already very high, and in future still increasing, shortage of personnel, they themselves carry out integration measures for migrants or participate in such activities of other institutions.

They are heavily involved in vocational training and carry out continuing vocational training courses with their educational institutions on an ongo-ing basis.

In many countries they are responsible for vocational education and train-ing, take vocational education and training examinations and check exist-ing competences and their recognition for local educational qualifications.

b) 20 Colleges and Universitys

In cooperation with the chambers of commerce, they develop curricula and counselling programmes for the qualification and integration of refugees.

They develop and implement train the trainer programmes so that professionally qualified teachers and counsellors are always available in all regions.

They support the implementation of the support measures and, if necessary, provide their own teachers for this purpose.

They advise and evaluate the implementation of the support measures and ensure ongoing quality improvements.

In this respect, chambers of commerce and higher education institutions are central institutions for the qualification and integration of migrants for the relevant international cooperation and for the implementation of the project results in as many regions and countries as possible. Accordingly, cooperation has been expanded and intensified through the comprehensive involvement of the following 70 organisations from 13 countries.

The 70 institutions of the extended international cooperation are predominantly members of the Hanse-Parlament. They were involved in the project work as associated partners and took part in individual project activities (e.g. participation in workshops, train-the-trainer programmes, etc.) They received all project results and individual implementation advice.

The cross-border exchange of information and experience took place directly between the project partners involved in the regional action alliances and individual international cooperation partners. Thus, for example, Polish partners visited the Schwerin Chamber of Crafts and Small Businesses for an intensive exchange of information and experience on the implementation of the project and on cooperation in the regional action alliance in Mecklenburg.

The Hanse-Parlament was particularly instrumental in securing the extended international cooperation. The 70 international partners from 13 countries were informed about the project's concerns, progress, and results by the Hanse-Parlament and the Baltic Sea Academy right from the start. Their suggestions, national conditions etc. were continuously fed into the project work, so that the project imple-mentation was from the outset geared towards intensive cross-border cooperation and the use of the results by all project and associated partners in 13 countries. The associated partners are directly involved in individual project activities, e.g. in the testing of educational measures or at conferences. The added value thus began even before the application was submitted, encompasses the entire project imple-mentation with mutual influence and permanent orientation towards securing inter-national cooperation and permanent use of the results, and is also continued after the end of the project in the ongoing implementations.

Associated partners of countries with a negative attitude towards refugees (e.g. Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary) are being approached and advised particularly intensively in order to change attitudes and prepare the corresponding implementation.

The cooperation partners from 13 countries, as transfer recipients and implementation partners, were informed intensively about the project by the Hanse-Parlament in writing and in person at members' meetings, workshops and conferences and were involved in the overall development of the education and integration programmes. They received all products and best practice in writing and electronically with all documents, as well as comprehensive implementation advice from the Hanse-Parlament based on their needs. In addition, individual representatives took part in trials as guest students, enabling them to gain experience for their own applications. All project results were presented and discussed at international consulting and transfer conferences, and business plans for own use were developed at workshops.

Ensuring the continuation of the cooperation

Cooperation between regional action groups

The project has involved existing regional networks in Finland and Germany, and has established networks in Italy and Austria:

Project partner Satakunta University of Applied Sciences for the Satakunta region, Finland

Project partner Chamber of Crafts Schwerin for the region Mecklenburg, Germany

Project partner Consortium for Transfer, Technology and Innovation for the Treviso Region, Italy

Project partner Institute for Applied Industrial Research for the Vienna region, Austria

During the course of the project, the respective project partners in their networks advised on the continuation of the cooperation after the end of the project and, as a result, each developed and concluded a Memorandum of Understanding. As an example, the Memorandum of Understanding for the Satakunta region is listed below.

Memorandum for the development and continuation

of regional action alliances

1. Overview

Within the framework of project „Integration of newly arrived migrants by means of competency assessment and high-quality further vocational training (INTACT) “, the respective project partners in Germany, Finland, Austria and Italy set up regional action alliances on "Integration and qualification of refugees", some of which were based on already existing regional cooperation. In Finland, the coordination group for authorities and organisations working with immigrants, MAKO-Network, coordinates the organisations working to promote the integration of people with a migration background into working life in the region of Satakunta.

The aims of the network are to coordinate the work among the immigrants, to enable the co-operation between the participants and to act as an umbrella under which all the actions and knowledge concerning the immigration and immigrants coming and living in Satakunta could be collected. Mako-organization is operating at the voluntary basis. Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) has been a member of the network since April 2018.

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences is multi-disciplinary and international university of applied sciences of approximately 6,000 students and 400 employees on 4 campuses (Pori, Kankaanpää, Rauma and Huittinen). As project partner implementation of the activities in Finland.

WinNova Länsirannikon Koulutus Oy is an institute for vocational educating and training.

Sataedu, the Satakunta Educational Federation, was established when strong providers of vocational education in the region merged at the beginning of 2010.

Diaconia University of Applied Sciences is a private owned university of applied sciences. The main shareholders are church foundations and institutions.

University Consortium of Pori is a centre of 2 500 students, 170 experts and-four universities operating networked in a multi-science environment.

Open colleges Otsola and Open college of Pori are providing general education (e.g. languages, music and other arts, craftmanship and so on) but the education does not give any qualification.

The religious communities are co-operating to help people with different religious to adjust to Finnish society.

Ely-Centres or Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment are – in addition to Regional State Administrative Agencies– the regional representants of governmental administration.

The Multicultural Association of Satakunta is a politically and religiously independent association with the aim to help Finnish people and immigrants to get to know one another and to support the cultural identity and native language of immigrants and promote the inclusion of immigrants into the Finnish society.

Finnish Red Cross Satakunta is a regional organization of Finnish Red Cross.

The Mannerheim League is the largest child welfare organization in Finland.

Other associations operating in the third sector and are willing to help and support immigrants.

The activities of the network are coordinated by an immigrant work team of adult social work of Pori municipal social and health services department. Each member has its own forms of activities. However, the cooperation between the actors is close. If some of the members has a client who needs help or support, they are not able to give, the customer is directed either direct to another partner who has capabilities needed, e.g. support and assistance in communicating with authorities, or, in more challenging cases, to municipal social and health services, which then takes responsibility for customer.

2. Challenges and Tasks

The EU estimates 3 million asylum applications in Europe at the end of 2017. In 2017, asylum seekers accounted for 0.01% of the total population in Poland, 0.21% in Italy, 0.27% in Germany, 0,09% in Finland and 0,28% in Austria. The integration of refugees into working life is difficult, lengthy and in some cases slow. Unemployment among immigrants is above average. While in Germany about 11.5% of the population comes from abroad, their share in the total number of unemployed persons is over 30%.

In the majority of the countries involved in the project, there is already a pronounced shortage of skilled workers. By 2030, the number of working people aged 15 to 40 will have fallen by up to 25%. The associated continuing intensification of the shortage of skilled workers represents the biggest growth barrier for the national economies, especially for the SME sector. Refugees can make a decisive contribution to overcoming this bottleneck. The faster and smoother refugees are integrated into working life and thus make important productive contributions to further development in the respective host country, the greater the willingness of the economy and the population as a whole to accept and integrate them.

By being integrated smoothly, refugees can make an important contribution to overcoming the shortage of skilled workers, which is the greatest constraint on growth today. The credentials in official certificates are less decisive for successful integration into working life than what the refugee is capable of doing at a suitable workplace with his or her individual skills and abilities. Therefore, on the basis of the identification of individual predispositions and professional competences (not to be confused with official recognition of qualifications), it seems appropriate to involve companies at an early stage, to initiate work quickly, to carry out accompanying qualifications according to individual needs and to provide all necessary assistance, advice, and bureaucratic tasks etc. during the entire process of qualification and onboarding, both for the refugees and the companies. To ensure that the refugees receive an official certificate for their further professional careers nevertheless, the qualifications can be bundled into a recognised further training qualification.

The EU-funded project "Integration of newly arrived migrants by means of

competency assessment and high-quality further vocational training" pursues the approach and the outstanding goal of achieving the integration of refugees into working life as far and as quickly as possible in regions of Austria, Germany, Finland and Italy by

a) Assessing competences, skills and aptitudes through a two-stage assessment procedure.

b) Based on the results of the assessment, a further training programme with an officially recognised further training certificate is completed, so that the refugee obtains a recognised professional certificate.

c) Individual coaching and placement into SMEs.

In summary, the following project-specific objectives are pursued:

Development, testing and implementation of innovative methods and procedures for competence assessment and high-quality, comprehensive further vocational training with an officially recognised further vocational training degree for the participating refugees.

Development and implementation of programmes for coaching, placement and onboarding of the trained refugees in companies with the highest possible integration rate.

Creation of an integrative environment and smooth cooperation through the development and establishment of regional alliances for the identification of competences, qualification and integration of refugees.

Transfer of all project results to 65 vocational training and work integration in-stitutions from 13 countries and achievement of a high utilisation rate through individual implementation consultations.

Inclusion of economic organisations and bodies responsible for vocational training from countries that have so far been opposed to the integration of refugees to bring about sustainable changes in behaviour on the basis of the project results.

4. Continuation of regional action alliance

Based on the results of the INTACT project, the project partner intends to continue the work on integration and qualification of refugees. In this context, the partner will continue to cooperate with the regional alliance organisations in the integration of refugees into working life, in particular in the following tasks:

1. The parties to the regional action alliance "Integration of Refugees into Working Life" assesses developments, promotes networking, develops and implements integration measures, acts as a permanent advisory body and is also the central contact point for third parties.

2. Committed support through ongoing dialogue with all relevant actors to create the best conditions for the smooth and rapid integration of refugees into working life.

3. Education is the key to individual development and integration of refugees into working life and the promotion of SMEs. Therefore, the partners of the regional action alliance want to promote the tailor-made qualification of refugees and, as far as possible and necessary, achieve recognised initial and further vocational training qualifications.

4. The alliance partners value the initiatives of the project "Integration of newly arrived migrants by means of competency assessment and high-quality further vocational training" and fundamentally support their further implementation. To this end, they will be involved in particular in the following tasks:

Identification of competences, skills and predispositions as well as development of individual qualification and integration programmes for all refugees involved in the programme.

Supporting the provision of language trainings.

Participation in the development and implementation of further vocational training programmes.

Supporting and assisting in individual coaching and integration programmes.

Enhancing national and international exchange of information and experience as well as cooperation.

5. The alliance partners agree to work closely together at a strategic level in areas of common interest in order to best promote the integration of refugees into working life. The Mako-network was established in 2009 and long-term cooperation within its framework will continue. They are willing to continue the regional action alliance after the end of the project. During the three-year project period, financing will be provided from project funds. At the end of the project, the activities of the Action Alliance will be financed from the following sources:

Current expenses of the cooperation are funded from own resources of the institutions participating in the alliance.

Costs of qualification and integration of refugees are funded from national and EU funds.

For the realisation of more complex events, development tasks and for the implementation of new funding measures, projects with funding from national and EU funds are developed, applied for and implemented by individual members of the action alliance together with international partners.

6. Other institutions and organisations are invited to join this cooperation and

to play an active role in the important social, economic and political task of promoting the integration of refugees into working life.

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences intends to continue to collaborate with MAKO-network, and several teachers and researchers as well as the other personnel of Satakunta University of Applied Sciences are involved in co-operation and work within the frames of MAKO-network.

Pori 30.10.2020

Signed by Cimmo Nurmi, Vice President for Research

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences

International Cooperation

The international organisation Hanse-Parlament consist:

Baltic Sea Chambers

An association of 50 chambers of commerce, SME association and vocational training institutions from 13 countries, which are dedicated to the promotion of SMEs, in particular the implementation of dual vocational education and training and the strengthening of innovation.

Baltic Sea Academy

An association of 20 higher education institutions and universities from 9 countries, which implement dual Bachelor's programmes and promote vocational training and innovation in SMEs.

It is crucial for small and medium-sized enterprises that they receive the funding and services, precisely tailored, just in time and from a single source. Achieving this is the central task of the chambers, which are the first and permanent contact partners for the companies. The chambers develop networks for the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises in order to bundle all their strengths and focus them consistently on small and medium-sized enterprises. In these networks, the Chambers take on the central initiative, coordination and start-up function and involve other funding institutions, especially universities and colleges. Via a central contact person "chamber", SMEs can thus use all the capacities of the region.

Within the framework of these networks, it is also the task of the Chambers to continuously integrate the specific concerns of SMEs into the work of politics, administrations, universities, colleges, etc.

The Baltic Sea Chambers of the Hanse-Parlament as a Baltic Sea-wide network supports the Chambers in the performance of these important support tasks for SMEs, takes over central development tasks, promotes innovation and wins over other institutions, above all colleges and universities, for the cooperative provision of support.

Colleges and universities are indispensable institutions for the qualification and innovation promotion of SMEs. Therefore, the second Baltic Sea-wide innovation support network for SMEs, the "Baltic Sea Academy", was founded with 20 colleges and universities.

In this system of SME support, the chambers, which are united in Baltic Sea Chambers, are the first point of contact for companies. They cooperate intensively with the colleges and universities of the Baltic Sea Academy and involve them in the development and support tasks, so that the SMEs are able to participate in the Hanse-Parlament to:

use, through Baltic Sea Chambers, the support of its regional chamber as well as best practice, know-how and capacities of all other chambers across the Baltic Sea.

make use of the knowledge, capacities, etc. of all higher education institutions and universities in the entire Baltic Sea region through the Baltic Sea Academy.

Through the dense network of chambers as well as colleges and universities cooperating in the Hanse-Parlament, companies in all countries and most regions of the Baltic Sea region are reached so that SMEs can use the knowledge and support capacities of the entire Baltic Sea region via their respective regional chamber, irrespective of their location.

This existing SME support network, which has been successful for many years, will be used to ensure international cooperation and continuation of the work after the end of the project. The Hanse-Parlament acts as a central control centre, ensuring international and mutual cooperation and is the driving force, coordinator, think tank and service provider for the ongoing implementation of qualification and integration programmes for migrants, in order to place them in small and medium-sized enterprises as entrepreneurs, managers or specialists.

The 50 chambers of commerce, SME associations and other institutions of vocational training, which are united in Baltic Sea Chambers, act as promoters and contact persons for SMEs, constantly bring the concerns and needs of SMEs into the work, transfer the results to SMEs and advise on implementation. Under the advice and coordination of the Hanse-Parlament, they continuously carry out qualification and integration tasks for migrants in their regions and use the know-how and capacities of the colleges and universities as required. The joint work in the Hanse-Parlament ensures smooth cooperation between chambers and colleges/universities.

With this concept, effective qualification and integration of migrants on the one hand and at the same time important support from one source for small and medium-sized enterprises in all countries and almost all regions of the Baltic Sea region on the other hand will be achieved within the framework of the Hanse-Parlament through coordinated cooperation with the dense network of SME supporters. Small and medium-sized enterprises are involved nationwide, regardless of their location, thus ensuring that peripheral regions are connected and supported.

The chambers, SME associations and other institutions of vocational education and training use and implement the results of the project and in particular take on the following tasks.

They represent the companies in which refugees can keep a job.

They are particularly interested in recruiting entrepreneurs, managers and skilled workers for their member companies.

In order to make a decisive contribution to overcoming the already very high and increasing shortage of personnel, they themselves carry out qualification and integration measures for migrants or participate in such activities of other institutions.

They are heavily involved in vocational training and, together with their educational institutions, they carry out continuing vocational training on an ongoing basis.

In many countries they are responsible for vocational training, they hold vocational and further training examinations and check existing competences and their recognition for local educational qualifications.

The colleges and universities use and implement the results of the project and take on the following tasks in particular:

In cooperation with the chambers of commerce they develop curricula and advisory programmes for the qualification and integration of refugees.

They develop and implement train the trainer programmes so that professionally qualified teachers and counsellors are always available in all regions.

They support the implementation of the support measures and, if necessary, provide their own teachers.

They advise and evaluate the implementation of the support measures and ensure ongoing quality improvements.

In carrying out these tasks, the results of the project are continuously developed further and new instruments, counselling and qualification programmes are developed as required. Complex new developments are carried out under the leadership of the Hanse-Parlament within the framework of funding projects. At the same time, the Hanse-Parlament ensures that all 70 participating partners receive all current programmes and best practices and exchange experiences and information with each other.

Continuation and financing of the work

The continuation of the work after the end of the project pursues the innovative, out-standing goal of achieving the integration of refugees into working life in the participating countries as far and as quickly as possible, by

Identification of competences, skills and aptitudes through a two-stage assessment procedure.

Focused on this, completion of a continuing education programme with an official educational qualification, so that a recognised vocational certificate is acquired.

Individual coaching with placement in permanent jobs in SMEs.

Attracting entrepreneurs, managers and skilled workers for SMEs and thus securing further development and prosperity for all.

In order to achieve these goals, the chambers united in the Baltic Sea Chambers and the colleges and universities united in the Baltic Sea Academy will continuously carry out the described tasks. They receive support and encouragement from the Hanse-Parlament, for which the following activities are planned:

Management, coordination and promotion of the activities.

Ensuring regional and international and coordination of the cooperation with Baltic Sea Chambers and Baltic Sea Academy.

Joint consultations, regular exchange of information and mutual transfer of experience at general meetings and working meetings of the Hanse-Parlament.

As part of the daily business, providing information, advice and documents for various target groups, e.g., companies, educational institutions, politics, public administrations, etc.

Development and with individual partners implementation of further devel-opment and support projects for the demand-oriented development of new qualifications and integration measures.

Transfer of the developed support concepts, curricula, integration pro-grammes etc. as well as best practice examples to all 70 partners and other relevant support institutions.

Demand-oriented process consulting and support during implementation.

At all general meetings and working meetings of the Hanse-Parlament, joint consultations, feedback, further development of existing and new development of additional educational and support measures take place.

The ongoing implementation of this work is coordinated by the Hanse-Parlament as part of its daily business. At the same time, joint consultations, regular exchange of information and mutual transfer of experience are ensured. As a result of the consultations, decisions will also be taken on the further development of existing measures and the development of new ones, and it will be determined who will carry out this work under the leadership of the Hanse-Parlament.

The regular exchange of information and experience as well as manageable work will be financed from the own resources of the Hanse-Parlament and its members. Complex work and development tasks are to be carried out within the framework of existing or new funding projects.

The ongoing implementation of the qualification and integration programmes for refugees by the chambers and institutions of vocational training, further education and higher education is financed from the national or EU programmes set up for this purpose.

For the implementation of more elaborate events, complex development work or R&D tasks, projects are developed with support from national and EU funds, which are applied for and carried out by the Hanse-Parlament together with individual higher education institutions, universities and chambers of commerce from different countries.

The present concept for the continuation of international cooperation and the qualification and integration programmes for refugees after the end of the project was developed in the project "Integration of newly arrived migrants by means of competency assessment and high-quality further vocational training (INTACT)" and intensively discussed and coordinated in workshops with the partners. Further consultation and coordination took place at conferences with all partners and with representatives of companies, politics and administrations. The members of the Hanse-Parlament finally discussed this concept and decided on its implementation.

Recommendations for future use

Wherever possible, cooperation within existing networks for the qualification and integration of refugees should be realised. All relevant actors are involved, the cooperation is well established, and existing contacts can be used. In addition, according to the experience of the project, the refugees are in various language courses, qualification programmes and integration measures of institutions which carry out these tasks on a full-time basis. As a rule, they receive funding according to the number of refugees they care for and the duration of the measures. It is therefore difficult for outsiders to recruit refugees for other support measures, but it is easy if the measures are carried out in cooperation with the established institutions and the latter themselves benefit from them.

If local/regional networks need to be set up, public administrations responsible for the reception and integration of refugees, labour market administrations and organisations with extensive contacts and direct access to businesses should be involved.

Cooperation with private refugee assistance organisations, such as Round Tables on refugee assistance, has also proved successful. Such involvement is usually voluntary, there are fewer self-interests, and any help is welcome.

Within the framework of this cooperation, personal communication should be the main focus. To ensure an intensive and comprehensive exchange of information and experience, specific Internet platforms should be developed, and social media should be used. Refugees can also be reached easily, mainly via social media. In addition, the project in Austria, for example, succeeded quickly and smoothly in addressing refugees independently of established institutions and winning them over to participate.

A stable basis of trust is of crucial importance for successful cooperation. The development of and strict adherence to a network culture, as it is exemplarily developed and lived by the Offensive Mittelstand, is recommended1.

In our regional network we promote a trusting cooperation based on mutual appreciation and fairness.

In our cooperation we take into account the interests of all partners.

We think and act interdisciplinary and act holistically.

We also use the expertise of other partners who are not (yet) part of the regional network and value their views.

Our regional activities are based on the consensus principle with an open discourse culture in which reservations, constructive criticism and opinions can and should be expressed openly.

Silence means agreement.

We make sure that every single network partner benefits equally from the co-operation.

Our joint action in the network is consistently guided by the question of how we can best implement our goals and strategy and increase the impact of our work.

1 Offensive Mittelstand: Vereinbarung der Partner der Offensive Mittelstand zu unserer Arbeit in unse-ren regionalen Netzwerken. Deutschland, Karlsruhe 2020

2. |Individual competence assessments and integration planning

2.1 |Analysis of existing Tools

According to the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, competencies are "personal prerequisites (dispositions), [...] which make it possible to act independently in a given situation. The focus here is not only on knowledge, but on its application. In addition to skills and abilities, competencies can also include emotions, attitudes, experiences, motivation, values and standards"2. Competencies are usually divided into four sub-areas: professional, social, methodological and personal. There are various approaches and quality requirements for their definition, which are described below. Then various tools from German-speaking countries will be presented.

Source: Thomas Retzmann et al. (2017) Losleger - Potential analysis for entrepreneurial thinking and acting. Vocational orientation of young people and young adults 2. Completely revised edition, p.24. [translated and formatted by the author]

In general, a potential analysis or competency assessment is made up of two parts: diagnosis and support. The two parts are linked by an individual feedback discussion between the participant and the coach.

There are three different diagnostic approaches, which can also be linked if needed. The approaches are (a) property-orientated, (b) simulation-orientated, or (c) biography-oriented. Regardless of which of these approaches is used, it is important to note that each diagnosis is only a snapshot and can therefore produce a different result at a different time.

According to Retzmann et al.3 the three diagnostic approaches are defined as follows:

The personality-orientated approach is based on the assumption that personal characteristics are generally stable and influence everyday behaviour. The diagnosis is made here with the help of (self-assessment) tests.

The simulation-orientated approach is based on the assumption that a person's behaviour is situation dependent. Therefore, the diagnosis is made through work samples and assessment centres as well as through simulations.

The biography-orientated approach is based on the assumption that one can derive current behaviour by analysing the past. The diagnosis is made through interviews or CVs.

Furthermore, a distinction is made between the subject-orientated and the demand-orientated procedure, whereby the first focuses on the participant and his individual abilities, while the latter compares the requirements of a certain profession or occupational field with the abilities of the participant and thus provides information about the exact fit of the person to the profession. Both the diagnostic approaches and the procedures rarely occur in their pure form and a competency assessment can, for example, be subject- and demand-orientated or have a biographical- and personality-orientated approach.

In contrast to other European countries in which there is a uniform state procedure for competency assessment, in Germany the individual federal states are responsible. Moreover, there is no public monopoly in this area; private providers can also develop and offer programmes. In Germany, competency assessments and analysis of potential are mainly applied through vocational orientation at school. In younger age groups, the focus is mainly on developing personal strengths and preferences and developing strategies to build on these. This strengthens self-confidence and motivates students to shape their own future. From the 9th year of school, there is an increased focus on the so-called matching of competencies and requirements of certain occupations or occupational fields, i.e., they are demand-orientated.

However, common characteristics across all procedures are that they consist of a mix of interviews, work samples, performance, intelligence or personality tests, e-profiling and assessment centre methods. There are some essential quality requirements, which were laid out by Petra Druckrey4 :

1) Subject orientation

2) Managing diversity

3) Reference to the world of life and work

4) competency approach

5) Transparency principle

6) Selection of process/target - and process

7) Professional preparation and implementation

8) Trained personnel

9) Feedback

10) Written documentation of results

11) Quality Assurance

12) Quality inspection

13) System orientation

14) Behavioural orientation

15) Documentation during observation

16) Criteria guided observation

17) Multiple observation

18) Separation of observation and evaluation

19) Personnel code

20) Rotation of observers

While in Germany competency assessments mainly take place in the transition from school to work, in countries such as Switzerland, Austria and France they are applied more widely. The "Qualifications Manual" in Switzerland is a broad-based portfolio with extensive question lists laid out in the Education Act which guarantees the documentation and recognition of informally acquired competencies. This biography-orientated approach is based on self-assessment, which is supported by external assessment. The "Competency Record" in Tyrol, Austria, is a "set of instruments for competency-orientated career counselling, which is conducted in various forms and tailored to the needs of different target groups"5 . This enables a self-positioning to one's own life, a positive change in one's self-image, self-responsible action and stress management. This has a positive effect on mental and physical health and social cohesion. In France, competency assessment centres have been set up, where everyone has a legal right to a 3-day process to identify and assess skills already acquired in order to develop personal resources as much as possible. In all three countries, competency assessment is not only limited to the transition from school to work, but is also used by professionals, by job seekers or foreigners to recognize their qualifications and skills.

In German-speaking countries there are various practical examples in the area of competency assessment. For example, some companies, especially in their work with refugees, carry out a simple practical test during the first on-site interview. This test is very straight forwards and only includes, for example, observing the applicant in his handling of tools. Even in short internships, workplace-related and relevant competencies can be assessed and certified by the company.