Problem addressed
The region of South Moravia in Czechia receives significant flows of migrants from a wide range of countries and with diverse backgrounds. It is difficult for migrants to obtain formal recognition of their knowledge, skills and qualifications. In addition, they face barriers to integration, including language difficulties and complex daily administrative procedures. These barriers often lead migrants to take jobs that do not match their skills.
At the same time, in South Moravia, employers are struggling to meet their labour force needs, particularly in the information technology (IT) sector. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have limited staff and lack the necessary resources to overcome the obstacles associated with employing migrants. The situation has created a mismatch between labour market supply and demand.
Innovative solution
The ‘Skills Centre for Foreigners’ organises free-of-charge Czech and English language courses, legal and social counselling, cultural activities and adaptation-integration courses for migrants in order to facilitate their integration into the Czech society. The Centre focuses on new education pathways for foreigners, as Czech curricula remain solely available in Czech.
The Skill Centre also helps employers to identify a workforce that can meet their needs and supports them with the administrative processes required to hire migrants.
The Skill Centre is developing digital tools to support migrants to address their challenges. In the framework of the Ukrainian crisis, the Skill centre developed a platform allowing Ukrainian migrants to create a CV in Ukrainian, provide their qualifications, and select the sectors in which they are interested in working. These CVs are then translated into Czech, enabling employers to access the information they need. The project team also set up an assistance centre and is working on a job fair to help Ukrainian refugees to find appropriate work.
The project is led by the regional office of South Moravia, which designed and developed the Skill Centre. The Centre increases the competitiveness of the South Moravia by upskilling and reskilling foreign workers to match labour market needs.
The regional office of South Moravia works with one primary partner, the city of Brno. The region’s biggest city, Brno began to address the issues of workers with diverse cultural backgrounds in 2019 in the framework of an ESF project. The regional office relies on the city of Brno and its institutions to carry out several Skill Centres activities. The project aims to expand the services provided to foreigners in cities close to Brno, as well as to cooperate with other big cities.
The regional office of South Moravia also collaborates with other organisations, depending on the specific activities of the project. These organisations include the labour office, education institutions (e.g. nursing schools), associations of employers, experts on entrepreneurship, or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with migrants. No organisation has a direct interest in the project, but, rather, the Skill Centre connects them to migrants who may benefit from their services. The regional office coordinates existing services for migrants.
Key results and benefits
At the beginning of the project, the company created an evaluation plan comprising various questionnaires to be completed before and after the project.
The evaluation process was designed with an external evaluator to ensure that it is coherent and adapted to the context and needs of the project.
The evaluation system is implemented throughout the project, with regular feedback sought from participants. This enables the project team to quickly identify where services are not valid or efficient, and to adapt them accordingly.
The Centre has increased its activity in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis and the increased numbers of Ukrainian refugees. Overnight, the regional office created an assistance centre, while a job fair planned for Ukrainian refugees should bring together over 60 employers and 2 000 jobseekers.
Eighty people have benefitted from job mentoring and assistance. Czech and English courses have been developed for the participants.
As of February 2022, 108 participants have successfully integrated into the Czech labour market following their involvement in the Skill Centre.
Potential for mainstreaming
The Skill Centre is currently organised under the regional authority of South Moravia. On completion of the project in 2023, a new dedicated regional organisation will be established, staffed with regional authority employees experienced in the project, to extend its activities.
The medium-term goal of the Centre is to develop services to facilitate the integration of migrants in other cities and to strengthen cooperation with stakeholders. In 2023, the new organisation will transfer the Skill Centre model to other regions of Czechia and will involve higher political stakeholders, such as relevant ministries. The project team will share the methodology and practical information, insights on developing cooperation with local authorities and institutions, as well as good practices and lessons learned.
The new project will extend the current Skill Centre model, including expanding its scope to other fields beyond its current focus on health and social work. It will also develop the CV translation tool to match it with the European multilingual classification of skills, competences and occupations (ESCO), enabling a better identification of skills.
The success of the Skill Centre relies on a thorough initial mapping of participants’ characteristics, their skills and interest areas, and local labour market needs. The model depends on cooperation with employers and labour offices seeking to close employment gaps. As a regional authority, the project team had existing relationships with stakeholders and partners, such as universities and employers.
The project could not have been implemented without ESF funding, particularly in light of the budget constraints in the wake of COVID-19 and the Ukrainian crisis. The national budget for migrant integration project is limited.
