Dissemination Brochure Vocational training for Bosnian refugees

The Austrian organisation for aid to refugees Helping Hands, put the main emphasis of its national project on job qualifications for Bosnian refugees.

The background of this project:

Many Bosnian refugees in Austria do have professional education or practice, gained in their native country.

In many areas the level of qualification is different. The Austrian labour market requires more or newer qualifications than the Bosnian refugees have achieved in their vocational training. (especially in the technical field).

The objectives of the courses offered by Helping Hands are to give Bosnian refugees those competence, they need for getting a job on the Austrian labour market, within their education or related to it. Now, for the most part, the refugees work in cleaning services and therefore in an area where they are absolutely overqualified.

The realisation of the project «Vocational Training for Bosnian Refugees» by Helping Hands took place in the following way:

• Survey of needs:
  
  In this survey, education and professional practice and the refugees present situation on the labour market have been examined.
  
  The results of this survey of 270 persons are important data for the knowledge of shortcomings in qualification and for the planning of further courses. Including present developments of the labour market, branches have been identified, for which there are good job prospects with appropriate qualifications.
  
  
• The planning of courses:
  
  In co-operation with experts, offers for vocational training courses have been developed which are orientated on the needs of the labour market. The aim of the course should be to increase the vocational knowledge of refugees to European or Austrian level. Therefore the courses had the character of further education.
  
  Developed courses based on transnational models are:
  office communication, motor vehicle electronics, semiconductor technology
  
  
• Implementation of the courses:
  
  From January 1997 on the course offers will be implemented gradually. Following the selection of the participants (language and specialised knowledge, residential situation, work permit) in co-operation with an Austrian vocational training-institution, the preparation of the target group to the requirements of the specific professions in started.
  
  The experiences made during the realisation of the project have also been valuable for the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs and its co-ordination bureau «Gip» (which was responsible for the support of the project), as it has shown that a faster carrying-out of the project could have been of better use for the target group. The realisation of the project was delayed for more than a year by the co-ordination bureau «Gip», which can be put down to the fact that they had big lack in organisation and staff.
  
  HELPING HANDS had to strike this passages out on demand of the Austrian ministry of social affairs, which partly financed the transnational brochure. Nevertheless we don?t want to withhold the mentioned passages from you!
  
  
• Accompanying measures:
  
  Accompanying measures of the project include looking-after the participants in their mother-tongue, the offer of legal and social advice (questions of industrial law and right of residence) as well as support in job-hunting.
  
  
• Evaluation:
  
  Every participant has to inform the organisation about his professional situation up to six months after the end of the course.
  
  Based on this data, Helping Hands can clearly report and evaluate the measures.
  
  
• Public relations work:
  
  With the project «Vocational Training for Bosnian Refugees» Helping Hands tries to attract the attention of the Austrian public.
  
  The special political situation in Austria (xenophobia, resentments fanned by Jorg Haider?s «Freedom Party») is a big impediment to the sensitisation of the public by integrational problems. Regular presence in the media is another instrument of communication, which is important for the work of Helping Hands.
  
  HELPING HANDS had to strike this passages out on demand of the Austrian ministry of social affairs, which partly financed the transnational brochure. Nevertheless we don?t want to withhold the mentioned passages from you!
  
  The target group-orientated communication of the project is of importance for employees and co-operation with the Austrian labour market-service, and it should make the success of the measures possible.
  
  
  

  ---

  | IN.LAN.DER Home | Transnational Partners-Activities | Dissemination Brochure | Back to the top of page |