Helping migrants to integrate in work environments Erasmus Project

Project Title

Helping migrants to integrate in work environments

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; Integration of refugees; Migrants’ issues

Project Summary

HelpMi consists of extending and developing the competences of HR professionals in inter-cultural education and diversity management and employees with a migrant background that who need the tools and skills for supporting their integration in the work placement and society.

Due to the demographic, social, and economic changes in EU, workforce is becoming more diverse. In the face of such a workforce diversity, it becomes important for national companies to put in place policies to build an inclusive workplace where each employee would feel dignified regardless to his/her ethnicity, religious views, social status and to integrate them into mainstream personnel. This practice is a win-win situation, as an efficient Diversity Management within an enterprise can produce significant benefits in terms of recruitment and staff retention, creativity, problem-solving, and customer engagement.

The overall objective is to facilitate the integration of migrants in the local labor market and increase their understanding of European culture as well to improve the multicultural competences of HR professionals who are dealing with them, for better support.
This will be done via following outcomes:
-Code of Conduct for HR Professionals who are dealing with migrant employees (IO1)
-Capacity Building Material for HR Professionals for enhancing their skills and competences in a Multicultural Working Environment (IO2) and
– Digitalized Training Material for employees with a migrant background (IO3) in order to support them by developing their competences in a multicultural setting. HelpMi has been designed based on the partners’ experience and understanding of professionals working with migrants’ needs and migrants learners. The project will bring together 5 partners from 5 different countries wishing to promote citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination, strengthening social cohesion and helping people become responsible, open-minded and active members of our diverse and inclusive society by enriching HR professionals’ intercultural competences.
HelpMi will also include four transnational project meetings that will contribute to the preparation, implementation and evaluation phase of the project as well as one joint staff training event for the staff of the participating organisations so as to be able to inform the target group during the multiplier events and the pilot testings. All the information gathered through this project and the promotion of the project itself will then be uploaded on the HelpMi website.

The total number of people, who will benefit (directly or indirectly) from or will be targeted through the project activities during its duration, is moderately estimated at approximately 2500.
The project’s expected results are the following:
•Increase the quality of services offered by companies to migrant employees in the future;
•Fostering the integration process of migrants in the host society;
•Increase diversity management practices within organizations;
•Increased motivation and satisfaction in daily work;
•Development of competences in dealing with inter-cultural conflicts;
•Promoting understanding of cultural backgrounds and reflection in order to increase tolerance and to reduce prejudices and xenophobia.

Impact on employees with a migrant background:
• Enable understanding of EU culture diversity and values;
• Become more integrated into the society;
• Acquired tools for addressing challenges in a multicultural working environment;
• Promote personal development;
• Enable a full understanding about EU diverse cultures and values;
• Increase their quality of life.

Impact on HR professionals:
• Make easier for them planning, integration, and actions to achieve effective diversity management goals;
• Improved knowledge levels of diversity management skills;
• Improve their position in the companies;
• Render their occupation essential part of a multicultural environment;
• Increased opportunities for professional development;
• Enable understanding alternative ways for mild integration of migrants into the host community;

Impact at national and EU level:
– Increased skills and knowledge of migrants in partner countries to successfully engage in the host country;
– Raise awareness of companies for encountering challenges in multicultural working environments through awareness of needed skills and qualifications gained through their participation in the developed Capacity building programme;
– Enhance the need for development of diversity management tool for HR professionals;
-Facilitated recognition of the course and the methodology by formal structures and institutions, depending on the national priorities and commitments;
– More efficient HR Departments work force in terms of managing multicultural working environments well equipped with the necessary skills and key competences, which leads in the long run to increasing productivity and growth in EU.

Project Website

http://helpmi.eu/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 158487,78 Eur

Project Coordinator

AAR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION(ASDA) RY & Country: FI

Project Partners

• KOKKALIS FOUNDATION
• FUNDACJA DLA SOMALII
• CO&SO – CONSORZIO PER LA COOPERAZIONE E LA SOLIDARIETA’-CONSORZIO DI COOPERATIVE SOCIALI-SOCIETA’ COOPERATTIVA SOCIALE
• ENOROS CONSULTING LIMITED