Volunteer-based tutoring model for low-skilled migrants & refugees – Volutoring Erasmus Project

Project Title

Volunteer-based tutoring model for low-skilled migrants & refugees – Volutoring

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Migrants’ issues; Integration of refugees

Project Summary

The scope of the project was to develop a comprehensive tutoring approach for building key skills and competences of low-skilled adult migrant-refugees (1st main target group), in order to facilitate their integration in the educational, professional and social life. This comprehensive capacity plan have been based on a volunteer-based tutoring model facilitated by an electronic platform and supported by volunteers or professionals (2nd main target group), who would act as tutors to the low-skilled adult migrants/refugees for building their literacy, numeracy & digital skills (LDNS) building, necessary for empowering the target group to fruitfully participate in social and economic life and to improve their self-reliance.

The basic objectives of the project were: a) To foster social inclusion of low-skilled adult migrants in their recipient countries by building their literacy, numeracy and digital skills; and b) To elevate the level of support skills’ building services to migrants by introducing a new tutoring methodology, facilitated by volunteers.

This project has been implemented in 6 countries (Turkey, Greece, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Cyprus), either heavily affected by the recent migration flows or hosting a significant number of third country nationals (i.e. Sweden).

The above have been achieved through the implementation of the following activities:
1. Design and development of capacity building course for volunteer tutors
1.1. Preparatory work
1.2 Specification of the didactic methodology
1.3 Content Development of capacity building course on literacy, numeracy and digital skills
2. Design, development and piloting of capacity building web platform
2.1 Development of web platform infrastructure
2.2 Pilot Testing Implementations
2.3 Finalisation and Translation of the Web platform and upload of the capacity building content

As a result of the project the online modules below have been published on the projects official website: www.volutoring.eu:
a) Module 1 – Horizontal: General Overview of Migration to Europe 2020,
b) Module 2 – Horizontal: EU/National Legislation on Migration,
c) Module 3 – Horizontal: Inclusion Care for Migrants,
d) Module 4 – Horizontal: Administration/Evaluation,
e) Module 5 – Numeracy: Helping to Improve Migrants’ Numeracy Skills – A Guide for Volunteer Trainers,
f) Module 6 – Digital: Helping to Improve Migrants’ Digital Skills – A Guide for Volunteer Trainers,
g) Module 7 – Literacy: A Guide for Volunteers Teaching Migrants’ Literacy Skills in Turkish, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Swedish(as 5 different literacy modules).

Developed LDNS can facilitate the integration of refugees & migrants by providing access to information about available education, health or other services, about political and administrative information on the host country, and support systems/organizations available. They can also support the learning of the host country language, looking for a job, getting qualifications recognized. Thus at local level, the project developed the skills and competences of volunteers or potential volunteers involved as tutors of low skilled and low qualified migrant adults by the self-implementation of the tutoring scheme, enabling them to elevate the level of support services provided by them to low skilled migrant adults. The project has also allowed migrant adults improve their LDNS built by receiving tutoring support from the trained volunteers. This will facilitate their acceptance by local communities and also allow them to access the labour market easier, therefore unemployment and social exclusion rates will be reduced in the longer term.

Moreover, professionals, volunteers and higher education graduates wishing to become volunteers for low skilled migrant adults, as well as other organizations working with/providing support to low-skilled/low-qualified migrant adults at local regional or national level, will have access to new improved methodologies and tools to can enable them to provide more appropriate and tailor-made services to their target groups. In this way, the level of support services provided to migrant adults will be elevated and the organisations and institutions providing such services will be enhanced in the long term.

Local, regional or national authorities involved in policy making and implementation of social inclusion strategies promoting the integration of low-skilled/low-qualified migrant adults in their recipient communities have been increased awareness on how the mainstreaming of the proposed methodology in their social inclusion Action Plans and practices can support their work towards the up-skilling of the population and the reduction of marginalization and unemployment.

By developing basic skills of low-skilled/low-qualified migrant adults, the project connects with other Erasmus+ Adult Education and VET, which contributes to the Erasmus+ Programme objectives and the priorities of the New Skills Agenda for Europe.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 176384 Eur

Project Coordinator

AB Calismalari Merkezi Dernegi & Country: TR

Project Partners

• CSV MARCHE CENTRO SERVIZI PER IL VOLONTARIATO DELLE MARCHE
• Innovation Training Center, S.L.
• SYMPLEXIS
• ELDERBERRY AB
• CSI CENTER FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION LTD