Providing access to guidance, training and validation of non-formal and informal learning for migrant women working in care sectors Erasmus Project

Project Title

Providing access to guidance, training and validation of non-formal and informal learning for migrant women working in care sectors

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Gender equality / equal opportunities; Recognition (non-formal and informal learning/credits); Migrants’ issues

Project Summary

Health care is an important sector in all European countries and traditionally, health and social care workers are predominantly women. In 2016, at the EU27 average 18 million out of 23 million employees in health and social services were women, that is to say 78% of the total health workforce.

Ageing in late industrial economies, combined with rising demographic dependency ratios and female labour force participation, have led to emerging care deficits in Europe. Increasingly, immigrant women are being drawn into receiving country economies to care, often in informal settings, and frequently engaged by private households. The lack of legal status puts undocumented immigrants working in the care sector in many countries at risk of abuse. Those who are hired informally often lack the statutory labour rights accorded to them through a contract, including pensions and benefits, and may receive wages that are significantly lower than those paid for equivalent work in the formal health-care system (IOM;2010)

Moreover, the care sector itself is rendered unable to fully benefit from the work of immigrant workers who may want to provide in-home care but are unable to find a legal path to enter the country or obtain employment. Many migrants face the challenge that host countries fail to recognize their training and credentials.

In Spain and Greece, migrant domestic helpers primarily engaged in domestic work provide informal care to dependents without having the required training for care. In France, since 2010, there have been several reforms aimed at supporting care leave for informal carers, as well as respite options, training and education (Challenges in long-term care in Europe A study of national policies 2018. European Commission).

Moves towards skilling or upskilling, or indeed skills validation to informal learner women to assist them in becoming long-term care professionals, have only been reported sporadically. The employment challenges identified by the project partners, and confirmed by the expert group of the European Social Policy Network, highlight the need to address informal/undeclared work of migrant women in care sectors and to open up skills validation and upskilling to informal learners to assist them in becoming care professionals.

WE CARE project aims to address the described needs and challenges by designing and co-creating new methods and tools addressed to adult education teachers, counsellors and guidance personnel in order to support innovative practices in guidance, training and validation of non-formal and informal learning of migrant women working in care sectors in Europe.

To this purpose, six partner organizations, including experts in training and guidance in Adult Education, recognition, validation and entities supporting migrant women in the labour market, from five countries (France, Greece, Ireland, Spain and Turkey) shall work together to:

– Identify, process, gather and disseminate useful resources related with the field of supporting migrant women working in care sectors (IO1- Digital Library of good practices and resources)

– Define and support the recognition of the skills, knowledge and competences that Adult education teachers, counsellors and guidance personnel requires to effectively provide guidance, training and validation of non-formal and informal learning for migrant women working in care sectors (IO 2 –Training Curriculum)

– Elaborate a useful Open Educational Resource with concepts, methodologies and approaches of reference for practitioners (IO 3- WE CARE Manual)

– Design practical activities, based on WE CARE Manual, to support teachers, counsellors and guidance personnel (IO 4 – WE CARE Toolkit)

The main target users of the project products are Adult education teachers, counsellors and guidance personnel. Final beneficiaries are migrant women working in care sectors.

During the life time of WE CARE project, the partnership will directly involve 79 Adult education teachers, counsellors and guidance personnel (24 partners staff / 30 experts involved / 25 target users in pilots), 125 are migrant women working in care sectors (in pilots) and 450 stakeholders. A wider audience, of a minimum of 1.000 recipients, will be reached at local, regional, national and European level through the planned dissemination activities.

WE CARE shall improve and strengthen the Adult education system by offering innovative approaches and contents to provide access to guidance, training and validation of non-formal and informal learning, and will have a direct impact in the skills improvement of Adult education teachers, counsellors and guidance personnel and in the migrant women, opening for them new skills pathways and job opportunities as care professionals in Europe.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 297232 Eur

Project Coordinator

INSTITUT CORSE DE FORMATION ET RECHERCHE EN TRAVAIL SOCIAL & Country: FR

Project Partners

• INNOQUALITY SYSTEMS LIMITED
• ISTANBUL VALILIGI
• INSTITUTO PARA EL FOMENTO DEL DESARROLLO Y LA FORMACION SL
• Asociación La Bien Pagá Espacio Escénico
• IASIS