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Italy
SICO Project: Integrated counselling and guidance service for immigrants job placement
  Introduction:

The target groups of the SICO project are mainly job seeking immigrants. The action fields covered by this initiative are: the integration into the labour market, the vocational qualification, the improvement of the intercultural understading and the sensitizing of the employers.

The general goals of SICO are to combat the disadvantages this collective suffer from when face the access to a work post and to combat the discriminations due to the lack of resources.

  Description of the problem:
A balanced development in an open and multi-ethnic society is also based upon the labour insertion of the people coming from less developed countries. In order to create a society where different people can live together, it is necessary to overcome some obstacles to labour insertion:

a) immigrants experience difficulties in accessing services, due to a lack of knowledge of local language; they are misunderstood due to a different cultural code; finally, they do not know labour market;
b) operators can not give an answer to all inquiries and supply all applicants with vocational training, due to a low level of skills;
c) lack of a services network, based upon the cooperation between different competencies, able to give real answers to integration issues;
  Description of the solution:

The answer to the above mentioned problems was the SICO project, one of the largest and most complex initiatives ever made in the Region in last years. The project was part of the European Initiative INTEGRA Operative Programme 1997-1999.

The following actions were taken:

- Implementation of a permanent group SICO through the involvement of public services operators, social departments, non-profit associations and representatives of immigrant communities present in the area.

- Implementation of a permanent structure SICO as a centre for immigrants vocational integration. The structure manages the actions of job placements for immigrants through a point of customised counselling:
- skills balance;
- training and vocational guidance;
- mentoring activities (both for self employed and employees).

- Research / survey / monitoring on the job market targeted to the identification of job opportunities for immigrants.

- Creation of a telematic network containing:
- the necessary information for immigrants integration (laws, associations, programmes, services,...)
- data base of job offers for immigrants
- information on opportunities on re-integration programmes.

- To train the staff of information services managed by public bodies, trade unions, and non-profit associations on the following themes: - methods of approaching disadvantaged subjects and information and guidance actions; skills balance: application of an evaluation system on the subjects capacities, - management of a telematic network: creation, implementation, solving of problems.

- Planning and management of training modules for immigrants about enterprise creation and self-employment also using multimedia products.

- Dissemination of the service supported by publications, meeting with the representatives of the immigrant communities, seminars, and a national meeting on re-integration programmes.

- Transnational actions based on the comparison and collaboration with partners already involved in similar activities. The transnational project "Plateforme d'orientation" focuses on guidance, skills balance and mentoring activities addressing the needs of disadvantaged people.

The web page of the programme is: www.migrantes.com. Other information tools are: SICOinforma three-monthly magazine, and a handbook for extra-EU citizens.
  Impact and results:

At least 140 immigrants have found or secured a job. At least 500 immigrants have accessed to the education system. At least 30% of them have had access to housing thanks to this programme.

The SICO project has contributed to introduce innovations in three domains:

- in products and services by creating new services or putting existing services on line
- in processes by modifying metalities, decisional processes (i.e. planning), ways of working form different local players.
- In relations by creating new synergies among key players in local development and enhancing talks.

Such results have been achieved thanks to the actions taken on by project partnership on local policies, thus making the temporary services permanent and introducing new forms of cooperation by sharing resources in a common action plan.

The "migrantes" web site has allowed the widening of the basic skills of the operators, and amplified and further extended contents and products of the original project, thus creating virtual communities to discuss and define new projects.

The project has been selected as Best practice for Italy by ISFOL, the Institute for Job Training of the Ministry of Labour.

 

 
  Practical considerations :

The sources of funding have been: the European Commission, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Region of Veneto, Antonio Provolo Institute, Veneto Work Agency, Veneto Health & Social Unit, social services and "Info youth" desks of several Communes and Provinces, University of Padua, trade unions, employers associations, training centres, NGOs.

The project lasted two years: 1998-2000, but its outputs and services will last for an undefined period of time.

IF YOU WISH ANY FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT TO:

Istituto Antonio Provolo.
Mr. Lucio Garonzi.
lgaronzi@provolo.it

Via Berardi, 9.
37139 Verona
Tel. 045 8100611
Fax. 045 575396
csfprovolo@provolo.it
www.migrantes.com