The goal of project REVaLUE is to enhance the labor inclusion of refugees, subsidiary protection holders and asylum seekers by improving their access to skilled jobs.

Refugees, however, tend to have more difficulties in achieving employment integration than other migrants. Even when they find employment, they are often overqualified for that job: immigrants over-qualification rate is higher than that of native-born, and refugees show the highest rate.

This is due to a combination of factors. First of all, refugees seldom have proof of their previous studies and even when they do, it is hard to obtain an official recognition in the host country. Secondly, working experience gained at home is not recognized and it is dismissed by local employers, who tend to value only the working experience acquired in the host country. Refugees also face long periods of inactivity which lead to demotivation and deskilling; deskilling in turns means that refugees could only accept low-skilled jobs, remaining trapped in a low socioeconomic cycle. Moreover, they lack knowledge of the local language and employers tend to have a discriminatory attitude towards them. According to a study realized by UNHCR, qualified refugees are even more negatively affected than other migrants.

The corrective action of REVaLUE will strive to tackle all major causes that prevent refugees’ labour integration, namely:

• lack of recognition of knowledge, competence and skills, including previous studies;
• deskilling;
• Lack of working experience in the host country;
• Language

To this end the project will:

• facilitate the recognition of formal, non-formal and informal knowledge, competences and skills of refugees/subsidiary protection holders/asylum seekers through the design and implementation of a toolkit for migrants' skills assessment (KA2 horizontal priority 2 ‘inclusive education, training and youth’ and 5 ‘transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications’);
• transfer new highly qualifying skills to refugees/subsidiary protection holders/asylum seekers through tailored VET courses that meet their specific learning needs and characteristics, in particular the language (KA2 horizontal priority 1, 2 and 3; VET field specific priority 3 and 4);
• provide refugees/subsidiary protection holders/asylum seekers with hands-on experience through the creation and implementation of work-based laboratories (VET field specific priority 1).

This topic is involving Europe as a whole, therefore, any action addressing this phenomenon should be carried out transnationally.

Project Partners:

• ERIFO (ITA)
• Programma integra scs (ITA)
• Iriv conseil (FRA)
• FISPE (FRA)
• RINOVA limited (UK)
• Ashley community Housing (UK)
• Jövökerek Alapitvany (HU)
• gsub mbH (DE)
• Budapest Chance/Esely (HU)