On 14-15 December a delegation of Social Platform members traveled to southern Sweden to learn more about successful ways of including migrants and refugees in economic and social life.
Over the course of two days we met three organisations that help low- and medium-skilled migrants to find work – including through training, mentoring and job placements – so that they can begin to integrate into society and enjoy access to various rights, including the right to live a life in dignity.
Yalla Trappan
Migrant women with little to no formal education are some of the most excluded members of society. The Yalla Trappan organisation empowers these women to break the cycle of isolation and exclusion.
Ester Foundation
The Ester Foundation is a social enterprise that helps women with migrant backgrounds to become entrepreneurs. Their work supports driven and creative women to develop not just their business skills, but their self-esteem and confidence, too.
Merit
Migrants face many challenges in gaining access to the labour market – some don’t have the necessary language skills, while others have no support in looking after their families. Merit is a private company that is contracted by the local authorities to help migrants overcome these challenges, and ultimately find jobs matched to their own individual skills and interests.
Migration brings a lot of qualified and skilled workers to Europe every year. Merit’s ‘Hotel Trainee’ project with the Good Morning Hotel in Helsingborg is a great example of how partnerships between private companies and local authorities can help to bring migrant workers into the labour market.
Read more about our fact-finding visit to southern Sweden in this report, this blog post and on the event page. To see photos from the event check out our Flickr album.
