Pre-Employment Support Program for Syrians Under Temporary Protection and Host Communities in Turkey
UN Migration Turkey (IOM Turkey)
(
United Nations / Multilateral body
)
#SDGAction33512
Description
This practice was launched in July 2018 and implemented through a quadripartite agreement among Directorate General of International Labor Force (DGILF), Turkish Employment Agency, Vocational Qualifications Authority (VQA) and IOM. It was developed to facilitate inclusion of unemployed Turkish and Syrians into the labour market through provision of knowledge and skills in the work-based learning form and to promote social cohesion through creation of a shared working environment between migrants and host communities. In total, 110 beneficiaries from Syrian under Temporary Protections (SuTPs) and Host Community (HC) were provided with access to pre-employment.
A project plan was designed to strengthen the skills and qualifications of foreign and national job seekers by supporting their employment in specific sectors in Turkey. IOM approached DGILF, VQA and Turkish Employment Agency to facilitate the issuance of work permits to foreigners, provide professional certification to beneficiaries and find a suitable company to place beneficiaries in employment. Following, professors Prof.Dr. Füsun Akkök and Prof. Dr Kasım Karataş were hired as consultants to develop a pre-job support program for beneficiaries. A total of 110 beneficiaries participated in a 5-day orientation session that included work-related learning objectives to facilitate the process of adaptation to the labour market, as well as basic knowledge and skills that support job seekers' employability. Thereafter, beneficiaries began a 3-month on-the-job training programme. During this period, minimum wage, social security national insurance contribution margin and relevant taxes and fees were covered by IOM for the first 6 months. Upon completion of the on-the-job training, beneficiaries took the vocational qualification exam and received certificates from VQA. In return, the company secured beneficiaries’ jobs for the following 6 months.
The evaluation of the program revealed that it set a ground for beneficiaries to integrate and harmonize. Beneficiaries’ active participation encouraged them to listen, hear and learn from one another. Government stakeholders’ active participation in the program contributed to beneficiaries’ understanding of the work-based learning, laws and regulations related to labour force, labour migration concepts. 110 jobseekers from SuTPs and HC were employed. As the program encouraged labour integration of SuTPs and HC and enhanced basic knowledge and skills of beneficiaries, it is recognized as a good example by the @etfeuropa. Noting that migrants and displaced populations can be a key motor for innovation and entrepreneurship when equipped with the right tools, the program contributed to empowering displaced persons as development actors, allowing them to contribute to local development processes and thereby accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in Turkey.
The quadripartite agreement among IOM Turkey, DGILF, Turkish Employment Agency and VQA supported the sustainable employment oriented inter institution partnership and dialogue. It further facilitated and expedited the legal procedures of recruitment of beneficiaries, especially migrant workers and increased the trust to programme and its validity. Also, the support provided to beneficiaries had a tangible contribution as it generated work for jobseekers and raised the awareness of existing staff and employees on labour market adjustment.
Taking into account the high rates of unemployment not only among migrants but also host community members, this programme set a ground for employment of jobseekers. As the costs of the beneficiaries were covered by the project during the first 6 months, this was a beneficial and advantageous programme not only for the jobseekers but also for the business owners. Based on the positive feedback received from all the engaged parties, this programme was re-implemented in 2019 and 2020 as well. In addition, as the employers acknowledged the potential of migrants, they kept them in employment after the end of the programme as well. Furthermore, this programme acted as an ice breaker as it broke down the prejudices of both employers and host society members and raised awareness of them towards migrants. The employers involved in the programme emphasized that they will continue to work with migrants.
- Report of European Training Foundation (ETF) International Trends and Innovation in Career Guidance Volume II. Country case studies, 7.3 Cooperation and Coordination Mechanisms, Integrated provision of career and employment services for migrants and the host community, page 68. - Good Practices in the Refugee Response from Turkey (http://www.refugeeinfoturkey.org/goodpractices.html (Page 2 of description section)) - Published: Supporting the labour market integration of migrants in Turkey: The efforts of the International Organisation for Migration – Career guidance for social justice (wordpress.com)Based on the publicised work of IOM on ETF publications on Career Guidance Trends and Innovations and the social justice and career guidance website on a pre-employment support programme, the webinar will be held on March 26th. https://dmhassociates.org/webinars
The outbreak of COVID-19 in mid-March 2020 in Turkey has affected the ongoing process with Sarten company. Prior to the pandemic, some activities under the practice were conducted in person. However, with the disruption caused by COVID-19, for sustainability purposes, IOM adopted a modality where the content that could not be provided in person was converted into a booklet. Since the beneficiaries of the practice are SuTPs and HC, the booklet was produced both in Turkish and Arabic languages to be disseminated to the beneficiaries. Since the beneficiaries started working on 17 March 2020, they were all informed about the ways to be protected by COVID-19 at the working environment. Despite COVID-19, a total of 20 SuTPs and HC provided with secure job placement for at least 1-year period. 50 per cent of the total beneficiaries were women.
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Other beneficiaries
Unemployed Syrians under Temporary Protection and host community members were the main beneficiaries of the programme. A quadripartite agreement among IOM Turkey, DGILF, Turkish Employment Agency and VQA was signed which opened a path for more collaborations.
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Contact Information
Yelda , Senior Programme Officer