About the Partners
All partners in the IDTS project share a common desire to improve the attractiveness and impact of small business training services vis a viz immigrants and minority ethnics. The partnership represents all sides of the equation, bring together as it does; 3 Immigrants representative bodies, 1 Research centre specialising in diversity, racism and immigration, 1 SME business centre, 1 national SME representative body and two training providers (one specialising in SME training & the other in language). The partnership also comprises member states more generally thought of as “receiving nations” and also one “sending nation”. The partners therefore work either directly with Immigrants or with SMEs. They are well placed and well aware then of the challenges facing both immigrants in gaining suitable appropriate employment and of the challenges facing SME employers in employing, training and integrating immigrants into their workforce. This project has arisen out of that clearly identified need.
Worker mobility brings positive net benefits to economies and societies and is a growing trend. However, immigrants face serious, systemic labour market disadvantages, such as discrimination, lower job security and poor access to training, and the vast majority are working in jobs inferior to their skills level. Immigrant disadvantage and employment insecurity is likely to be aggravated by current economic turmoil across Europe
Since the launch of the European Employment Strategy (EES) in 1997, the integration of disadvantaged groups (including immigrants) and combating of discrimination, have been key features of employment guidelines. However despite the contribution that they make to their host countries, immigrants often face serious, systemic labour market disadvantages. At 52.7% the employment rate of non-EU nationals in EU-15 is significantly lower than the 64.4% rate for EU nationals, and is especially marked for women. (EU Commission Report on immigration, integration and employment (2003) 336).
Moreover, in comparison with national workers, immigrants experience:
• Discrimination on the basis of perceived linguistic, cultural or ethnical differences
• Over repesentation in risky sectors of employment
• Lower job security (short term contracts, seasonality, vulnerability to hire-layoff cycle)
• Inability to find work to match their qualifications, resulting in lower skills use and remuneration
• Difficulty in accessing employment guidance and training given unfamiliarity with national support structures
Banbridge District Enterprises Limited is an organisation dedicated to the generation and development of the local economic wealth in our area and beyond. A not for profit organisation, with the goal of promoting enterprise development in the region through; the creation of an enterprise culture, the provision of training, advice, and support, and the provision of financial aid. Its mission is ‘To support the development of Business and Enterprise through a partnership approach between the public, private and voluntary sectors.” Its staff are experienced providers of business education to young adult and adult entrepreneurs, and they have successfully carried out a wide range of business training initiatives, such as: business start and management programmes (lasting up to six months), training seminars, business focused computer training courses, trade fairs and student enterprise awards, working with up to 400 people per year. They are experienced in EU projects and of particular relevance to this proposal is their experience of managing the Leonardo Transfer of Innovation project Immigrants into Entrepreneurship www.eu-imminent.com This Project is european in its scope and it aims to assist Immigrants to consider setting up a business. This IDTS partnership proposal complements that project as it will examine and recommend solutions to the problems faced by SME employers. Both project will thereby provide a holistic employment solution to immigrants in our region, be it through paid employment or self employment.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) is an independent non-governmental organisation (NGO) which addresses the needs of immigrants in Ireland by providing information and advice on a wide range of immigration issues through its Information & Support Service and specialist advice through its Legal Service. It promotes immigrants’ rights through advocacy, lobbying and campaigning work and undertakes research on the migrant experience in Ireland. Enjoying collaborative relationships with nearly 50 local or specific immigrant groups, the ICI is a recognized authority on immigrant issues in Ireland and has developed significant experience in providing training on migrants’ rights and entitlements to service providers and other groups and has produced a number of publications on immigration issues.
Migrants’ Advice has many years experience in providing competent advice on immigration.
We have extensive experience in providing advice to immigrants in Denmark and a deep understanding of both ethnic communities and public authorities, procedures and practices.
In addition, we offer consultancy services to private and public enterprises, which in one way or another, help with the integration into Danish social and working life.
Our unique experience in this field enables us to effectively solve the problems that may arise.
In the three regions where we have offices, Aarhus, Aalborg and Copenhagen, there are large concentrations of immigrants. The largest in Denmark. Immigrants are often 1 and 2 generation without education or opportunity for retraining.
The Institute for Rights Equality and Diversity aims to research and political intervention through interdisciplinary, socioeconomic and legal analysis, public dissemination of research findings and policy recommendations regarding migrants and minorities and the phenomena of migration, racism, discrimination towards equality and participation in Greece and Europe.
I-RED includes among its scopes the study and promotion of equal treatment and defence of discrimination victims on all grounds of diversity and social identity. Among its members are acclaimed scholars in social sciences (sociology, economy, law, anthropology, social psychology, pedagogy) and political activists on anti-discrimination, migration, social equality and political participation. I-RED is headed by Miltos Pavlou, socioeconomic & law researcher and political analyst, director of the Greek National Focal point on Racism & Xenophobia leaded by the Hellenic League for Human Rights. i-RED is partner of the RAXEN NFP, contributing in the RAXEN project management and implementation.
Among most recent research:
• 2008, Love for equality: Homophobia in Greece, Country Report by Miltos Pavlou (i-RED)
• 2008, Athens, City of Migrants, Migration Report by Miltos Pavlou (i-RED)
INIMM’s main objective is to support economical development from offering a package of educational and affairs services to Romanian SMEs and managers. INIMM has a wide experience in the activities such as developing projects on different national and international programmes, collaboration with international institutes and organizations, organizing economical missions in Romania and foreign countries, assistance and SME support in the relationships with different national or international bodies, consultancy services.
European societies are becoming more multicultural. These are realities where cultural encounters are a source of mutual enrichment, but also situations where social, economical inequalities can be reduced through finding out the specific needs of the immigrants. Education has to be for free and for everybody. Following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, education is understood as a fundamental right in which everybody at any age has to be able to participate, independently of their legal-administrative situation.
In a democratic and intercultural education, participants who take part in educational processes have the right to contribute to the definition of the kind of education they want. Then, there must also be spaces where it is possible to participate in an egalitarian way. Every partner country should promote social policies, which facilitate access to and active participation in education, training courses and the labour market, recognising people’s rights as citizens. Education must recognise and accredit adult immigrants’ prior knowledge in order to facilitate their access to training courses and jobs.
The Learning Hub is a small international training company operating in the fields of training, local and regional development, enterprise and employment development and project management. Based in Belfast, the company has considerable experience of working in Northern Ireland, other parts of the UK and in Ireland. We deliver classroom, e-learning and blended learning. Our background is in presential style classroom delivery but are moving increasingly to blended learning delivery. As such we have our own in-house technical web-development experts.
The company specialises in training and development for SME’s, particularly in the food, tourism and environmental sectors. We have also undertaken much work in the field of Peace research, citizenship and conflict resolution, building on the experience of Northern Irelands “Troubles”, through our work on projects such as Global Peacebuilders www.globalpeacebuilders.org As such this Project offers the opportunity to uncover innovative work particularly with regard to diversity training in SMEs.
AcrossLimits is a dynamic Maltese technology research & consulting SME with its roots firmly set in the cultural and e-learning and language sectors. In fact it has been providing policy consulting, project development support and online content management systems to many public and private entities in Malta, amongst which the Ministry of Youth & the Arts, Heritage Malta, The Malta Centre for Restoration, and several Local Councils. Since 2004 it has been an active partner of the Minerva network where it supported the participation of the Maltese Government’s role in the NRG (National Representatives Group) for the digitisation of Cultural Heritage.
AcrossLimits maintains good links both within the different cultural communities in Malta and in the Mediterranean region, and also with the technology research area in order to be able to serve the needs of the former with the latter. This network of contacts will be exploited within this EDTS project. In fact AcrossLimits’ role as national contact for Malta will ensure a strong dissemination of the projects’ findings and results.
