Connect Refugees and Work
Solution to stimulate and motivate the labour demand from SMEs to refugees and asylum seekers (RASs) through social cooperatives involvement
Description
In 2017 almost 34.000 refugees and asylum seekers (also indicated in the next pages with the acronym RASs) have obtained the temporary permit to stay in Italy. This permit allows them to work along the duration of the stay (6 months). For RASs, the work inclusion is the best way to improve the social inclusion. Work inclusion:
helps a faster language learning;
promotes the increase of the relationships;
Support the intercultural dimension, that is on the base of any enrichment processes.
Nevertheless, many RASs have strong problems to find a job. Work inclusion of RASs depends largely on the work demand expressed by the companies.
However, the companies still do not hire RAS in the necessary proportions. The main reasons are two:
(1) companies are not informed enough and have no tools to identify and select RASs;
(2) companies are not sensible to the problem. Regarding the first aspect, Start Refugees offers opportunity network services for job offers of RAS. Relatively the second aspect, is very hard to give to the companies the right motivation for RASs hiring.
Companies to be sensitive about an opportunity have to link it to competitive advantages. Something that can give them an advantage in terms of cost, greater efficiency, prestige and reputation.
We believe that right methods to increase the sensitiveness of companies, it will be possible to raise the RASs hiring rates. Furthermore for a better involvement of social cooperatives as organizations in contact with RASs it would be useful implement solutions enable to overcome their lack of confidence towards digital tools
With this challenge, Start Refugees will support any organizations offering methods and tools that can be used to increase the aims of the companies to hire RASs and to overtake the limits in using digital tools among social cooperatives.
Target
The challenge is located in the Municipality of Genoa, an area in which SR has started to work.
In this area, SR operates with an IT platform that provides services to sustain the access to work for RASs. The challenge is focused on increasing the employment inclusion of the RAS. There are about 100 RASs ( 300 within the end of April) in the SR database in Genoa. They are people with a low grade level, not highly skilled.
Competencies
SR allows the dialogue between demand and supply of temporary work for the RASs. The SR web platform allows the meeting between the skills of the migrants and the requests for an available job. All this in coherence with the "Charter of Good Reception". For these aspects, the link between the challenge and the strategies of the owner is very strong. In the recent past, SR has carried out some activities to increase the sensibility of the companies towards migrants, but with results not in line with the expectations.
The SR staff will be dedicated to the challenge. The staff will be also available to support the Reception Centers and the companies to complete the procedures to regularize the position of the worker. The goal is to work on a pilot sample of 100 (companies and or social cooperatives)
Innovation
SR seeks new solutions to motivate the companies to use the opportunity network services for RASs. The solutions used so far have produced unsatisfactory results; maybe the causes of this result are linked to the fact that the companies are conditioned to link every choice to a competitive advantage; they need to justify the employment of a RAS with a concrete benefit per the economic activities.
The range of possible solutions in order to deal with the challenge is:
(1) research on the limits of the companies in using SR services;
(2) strategies to induce the companies to use SR services, thus to employ RASs;
(3) research and tools to increase the use of digital solutions among social cooperatives.
Commitment
SR will make available to the applicant:
(A) information and data already acquired;
(B) connection with the Agora social cooperatives consortium (personal services);
(C) investments for the implementation of the strategies, identified through the implementation of the projects / challenge.
The SR staff will be also available to support the Reception Centers and the companies to complete the procedures to regularize the position of the worker.
Compliance
The Challenge complies 100% to the ethical standards.