2016-2-NO02-KA205-000780 Career guidance for young refugees - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

2016-2-NO02-KA205-000780 Career guidance for young refugees – escaping NEET status with good counselling towards training and employment- RefuNEET

The situation with Refugees in Bulgaria- some statistics  In 2015 in Bulgaria are registered 20 391 persons who have asked protection from the State Agency for Refugees within the Council of Ministers.  In 2016 applications for protection- 19 418 are 5% less than those registered in 2015.  Last numbers for year 2017 (till September), provided by the State Agency: • Number of persons seeking protection- 3007; • People with Refugee status- 706; • Provided humanitarian status- 789.

A brief analysis of the profile of asylum seekers in 2016 regarding Education  Data for the past 5 years in terms of educational level show a significant change in the proportion between the different levels: • With more than twice is decreased the number of people with university or college education compared to other categories during the years after the beginning of the refugee “wave” in the country. • According to the statistics for the last two years, people without education are 23%, and the low-educated, with elementary or primary education, are 54%. • In 2016, those seeking protection who have indicated as their educational level higher or college education are 6%, as very few of them possess a document to certify it.

Some good practice measures and policies for recording or evaluating refugees' competences in Bulgaria • Program for employment and training of refugees , financed by the state budget for active labour market policy- Bulgarian Employment Agency • Proposal for Integration Support to Beneficiaries of International Protection in Bulgaria in 2016 - the United Nations Refugee Agency in Bulgaria, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): provision of Bulgarian language classes, vocational training, assistance for the validation of skills, translation/ legalisation of previous competences, education and qualifications. • The Refugee Project- a joint initiative between the Cooperation for Voluntary Service Bulgaria and Caritas Sofia in conjunction with the Bulgarian State Agency for Refugees: provide educational assistance and a range of activities for refugee children and adults

Some good practice measures and policies for recording or evaluating refugees' competences in Bulgaria • Information meetings in the centres for temporary accommodation of refugees on the necessary documents for registration as jobseekers and mediation services : preparation of integration profiles of persons with educational and qualification characteristics • Specialized informational job fairs for refugees , organized by the Bulgarian Employment Agency in cooperation with the State Agency for Refugees • Mediation services delivered to persons with refugee or humanitarian status in the Republic of Bulgaria , provided by the Directorates "Labour Office“ • "Educational integration of students from ethnic minorities and/ or people seeking or granted international protection“ - Ministry of Education and Science • State educational standard for the acquisition of Bulgarian literary language , developed by the Ministry of Education and Science: including for the children of Refugees

The RefuNEET project • Title: 2016-2-NO02-KA205-000780 „Career guidance for young refugees – escaping NEET status with good counselling towards training and employment“ - RefuNEET • Leading institution: Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway • Participating countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Norway, Turkey, United Kingdom • Duration: 01.09.2016- 31.12.2018 • Main aim: Project activities are aimed at early assessment of the competences of young refugees (age 15-29) combined with effective career guidance and counseling in order to avoid the status known by the English term "NEET" - a young person who is "Not in Education, Employment, or Training“

The RefuNEET project • RefuNEET is implemented in parallel with another similar initiative of the Norwegian partners - RefuSkills , with synergy between the two projects:  Establishment of an easy-to-use mechanism that gives refugees/ migrants an opportunity to document their skills and competences (in their own language) by using basic ECVET and Learning Outcome principles  The previous realized project of the Norwegian partner- Skillsbank is also in use - an ECVET oriented tool kit targeting career guidance, recognition of prior learning and individual training support

The RefuNEET project o Main expected results:  Developing methods, tools and procedures for identifying and recognizing basic skills and key competences of young refugees acquired through non- formal or informal learning, regardless of the context and learning pathways  Further development of career guidance services targeted at young refugees for continuing education, on-the-job training and employment  Recognition of professional experience of the experts in the field of career guidance, through accreditation of ECTS credit points (link to higher education)  Multilinguality of the toolbox, incl. Bulgarian version and Arabic

The RefuNEET project Optimal results:  Systematization of good practices for assessing and documenting the skills of young refugees;  Establishing appropriate guidance on methods and procedures for identifying the skills of young refugees;  Recognition of non-formal and informal training of young refugees and the acquisition of ECTS credits;  Creating a RefuPass document based on the experience of using Europass and Youthpass;  Development of a set of easy-to-use RefuNEET documents (certificates, portfolio, etc.) to support the professional realization of young refugees;  Developing a professional training program for career counselors among young refugees - recognizing prior learning and awarding ECTS credits.

Thank you for your attention!