The meeting was facilitated by Eleni Georgakakou, Project Manager and Researcher of DAISSy, and the main axes of discussion evolved around the three (3) MILE Multistakeholder WG main themes, specifically:

• Training methods and tools for integrating immigrants into the labor market
• Social and individual support for the involvement and continuous assistance of immigrants upon entering the labor market
• Needs of employers and long-term support strategies.

A significant number of more than 25 organizations attended the meeting from various sectors, including Governmental Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Research Centers, Universities, Employers’ Association, etc.

Speakers at the III Multistakeholder WG were:

DAISSy/HOU, Achilles Kameas, Professor of Pervasive and Mobile – Computing & Director of DAISSy Research Group, Hellenic Open University: Greetings & Opening of the session

Manpower Employment Organization, Athina Lazou, Head of Vocational Guidance Department (A1) – The I.ReF.SoS project: an Innovative Response to Facilitate the SOcial Support of young refugees

International Organization for Migration, Nota Tsekoura, Project Coordinator | Education & Juliana Kontini, Employability Project Assistant: Moving forward – HELIOS Updates

ELIX, Flora Pantelidi, Social Worker – The project: Get Ready for your Future UNICEF Greece, Georgios Simopoulos, Education Officer: From tools of identifying skills and needs to alternative paths of preparation for the labor market

UNHCR, Petros Mastakas, Assoc. Protection Officer: Beneficiary integration in the labor market: Evaluation of pilot initiatives and policy proposals

Ministry of Migration & Asylum – Special Secretariat for the Protection of the Unaccompanied Minors, Gelly Aroni: Short Intervention

The presentations were followed by a Q&A session, and the meeting was concluded with a most active dialogue between the speakers and other attendees, specifically focusing on the challenging period and the importance of coordination of actions between organizations such as the example of MILE Multistakeholder WG periodical sessions.

The original agenda had once again to be expanded and instead of 11:00’ – 13:00’, the meeting was afterall finalized at 13:40’. The next meeting was set to be planned for November/December 2020 under the coordination of DAISSy/HOU. For more information regarding MILE project and other DAISSy activities:

• Website : https://daissy.eu/projects/mile/, https://projectmile.eu/
• Facebook : @DAISSyResearchGroup, @MILEProject
• Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/daissyresearchgroup/
• Twitter : https://twitter.com/daissy_research
• Instagram: @daissy_researchgroup
• Email : info@daissy.eap.gr

Target of the ESWG is to inform and coordinate participants on the relevant issues at the national level. Specifically, main objectives of the ESWG are the coordination of the actions of Bodies dealing with issues of Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Education concerning Migrants in Greece, and the dissemination of relevant information.

The ESWG meetings that used to take place on a periodic basis (per week or per two weeks), since the beginning of the COVID 19 crisis turned online in an effort to cope with the multiple implications caused at this period. From March 16 till this day, more than 15 ESWG meetings have taken place online. DAISSy Research Group has participated in the total of the meetings in an effort to be constantly updated about the situation in Greece as well as in order to promote all MILE relevant actions.

DAISSy Research Group

a. skills assessment process, including the EU Skills Profile Tool for third-country nationals

b. consulting support for the development of soft skills such as:

• Communication
• Teamwork
• IT
• tackling discrimination
• national labor market and employment legislation in Greece, etc.

c. technical training for participants that will be matched with the labor market needs

Registration form: https://forms.gle/2BBAdQ3bkaf7ZYUU9

The Registration form will remain open until the entry places are filled. The aim of the total interventions in Greece  is to offer guidance and training services to 120 immigrants and refugees in order to make them employable. In addition, a subsidy is provided for the employment of a total of 30 immigrants and refugees for one month.

The MILE project is co-funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Union, and it aims to develop, implement and make wider use of an effective model for the integration of migrants and refugees into the labor market, based on the cooperation of many stakeholders. MILE actions are developed based on the needs of both employers and immigrants.

A significant number of organizations attended the meeting from various sectors, including Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Research Centers, Universities, Employers’ Associations, Municipalities, etc. Speakers to the meeting have been representatives from the following bodies: UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency, National Center for Social Research (EKKE), UNICEF Greece, METAdrasi, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Office in Greece, Jobcenter of the Municipality of Athens, IME GSEVEE: Small Enterprises’ Institute of of the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants (Greece).

At the beginning of the meeting, the objectives and the specific purpose of the project “MILE” and of the Multistakeholder Working Groups taking place in its framework were presented. Specifically, its significance and direct relationship with the axes of employment and integration – social participation were underlined. Following, the participants made their presentations and interventions covering topics such as: current employer needs, refugee / migrant educational needs and challenges / problems / opportunities during the period before and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The discussion evolved around the three (3) MILE Multistakeholder Working Group main themes, specifically:

• Training methods and tools for integrating immigrants into the labor market
• Social and individual support for the involvement and continuous assistance of immigrants upon entering the labor market
• Needs of employers and long-term support strategies

The presentations were followed by the introduction from DAISSy/ HOU of MILE planned next activities for Greece, including the soft and technical skills training, which rose the interest of the participants for further collaborations in its framework.  Furthermore, the MILE “DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE: CHALLENGES AND BENEFITS OF THE INCLUSION OF THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS” Handbook for employers had been also presented.

The meeting was concluded with further discussion of the speakers and other attendees. An attempt was made to record future moves and practices, and the significance of keep having MILE Multistakeholder WG meetings on a permanent basis has been agreed by all participants. The original agenda had to be expanded and instead of 11:00’ – 13:00’, the meeting was afterall finalized at 14:15’ with the active involvement of all participants.

For more information regarding MILE project and other DAISSy activities:

• Website     : https://daissy.eu/projects/mile/, https://projectmile.eu/
• Facebook   : @DAISSyResearchGroup, @MILEProject
• Linkedin   : https://www.linkedin.com/in/daissyresearchgroup/
• Twitter     : https://twitter.com/daissy_research
• Instagram: @daissy_researchgroup
• Email           : info@daissy.eap.gr

The Handbook is an easy-to-use tool for all employers and association of employers across Europe – including those who participated in the MILE capacity building – willing to gain more information and knowledge on how to promote diversity in their workplace and support the integration of migrants in their company.

The Capacity Building for Employers on the topics of economic integration of migrants and diversity in the workplace were carried out in Italy, Austria, Greece and Spain between October and December 2019, involving more than 40 employers,across all economic sectors and sizes.

To check out the Handbook, visit the MILE library: https://projectmile.eu/library

MILE Migrants Integration in the Labour market in Europe is a project funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. The project is coordinated in Greece by DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University (HOU) and it is being implemented in cooperation with Olympic Training (OT).

Initially, Professor Acilles Kameas, Director of HOU-DAISSy welcomed the participants and made a brief presentation of the MILE project, where the aims, objectives and activities were described. Questions from the participants were answered concerning the involvement of stakeholders in the project activities and the role of MILE Working Groups. The session continued with a presentation of the survey results from Assoc. Professor Bill Vassiliadis, MILE project manager. The overall aim of the research was presented, and the tools-techniques used for conducting the survey were also briefly discussed. Emphasis was put at the major findings of the survey in the categories of Third Countries Nationals (TCN) hiring, employing, TCN job profiles and employers’ needs. Special focus was done mainly on the results from the Greek sample compared with the trends of the findings of the surveys completed in the other project countries.

Then the stage was set for the next session which included the initial discussion about the main research questions of the WG activities. A more in-depth presentation about how the WG are going to function and what is expected by their members, took place. The discussion was vivid and very fruitful remarks were raised to be further explored within the WG on-going performance. Overall, the participants expressed their interest in participating and contributing to the project through the WGs and future actions to be scheduled in autumn 2019.

A respective report of the meeting has been conducted by HOU-DAISSy, MILE project partner and has been sent to the ICEI (IT)-Coordinator, as a project deliverable.

For more info about “MILE: Migrants Integration in the Labour Marketin Europe” project, please visit its site and facebook page

To access the Voices of the European Employers Report, visit:  https://projectmile.eu/2019/07/31/find-out-mile-research-results/