Employability, Education, and Social Inclusion of Migrant Workers

The main goal of the project titled Promotion of Employability, Education, and Social Inclusion of Migrant Workers and Their Families is to set up an Info Point for Foreigners to Increase Employment, Work, and Entrepreneurship Opportunities for Foreign Workers and Their Family Members.

Purpose, Objectives, and Results

The purpose of the project is to increase equal opportunities for the employment of migrant workers, improve their social inclusion and economic independence, reduce social dumping and violations of workers' rights.

Key activities to achieve the project objectives include:

employment and training of advisers to establish and run the Info Point for Foreigners in the center of Ljubljana, mobile throughout Slovenia, and within the career centers of the Employment Service of Slovenia,
printing multilingual brochures,
preparation of a multilingual website for migrants,
analysis of the educational needs of foreigners and other services for their easier access to the Slovenian labour market;
presentation and promotion of the provision of educational programs, services, and measures of government and non-governmental organisations aimed at easier integration into the Slovenian labour market,
organisation of education to provide information to migrants at the local level by implementing the Volunteering Program of the Info Point for Foreigners of the Employment Service of Slovenia based on the Agreement with the Slovenian Philanthropy;
providing free additional services, e.g., information and counseling, legal assistance for the enforcement and protection of workers' rights, advocacy, reporting violations to supervisory authorities and law enforcement agencies, conducting training for cthe most vulnerable target groups of migrant workers, refugees, and asylum seekers (from April 2014 to the end of June 2015);
exchange of experience and transfer of best practice examples with related institutions in other EU countries and countries with the highest percentage of migrant workers.

For the quality implementation of these activities and overcoming language and cultural barriers in communication with users, the key is the training, employment, or voluntary work of migrants, workers with migrant experience, or providers of programs and projects aimed at the integration of immigrants into the Slovenian environment.

Since March 20, 2010, the Info Point for Foreigners has provided more than 70,000 users with information every working day:

information on opportunities and conditions for employment, work, and entrepreneurship in Slovenia,
information on procedures and necessary documentation to obtain a visa, residence permit in Slovenia, and appropriate work permits depending on the purpose of entry and residence in Slovenia,
information on rights and obligations arising from labour law regulations and procedures for the protection of rights in case of their violation and discriminatory treatment in personnel procedures,
information on procedures and conditions for asserting rights at the end or termination of employment,
information and advice to migrant workers and their family members on opportunities for additional training by service providers for the labour market for successful career development,
motivation for participation in Slovenian language courses and getting to know Slovenian culture for easier integration into social life,
assistance in administrative procedures and overcoming other obstacles in cooperation with a network of government and non-governmental organisations (Social Work Centers, Slovenian Philanthropy, Red Cross, Caritas, trade unions),
assistance in using modern online services and tools for lifelong career guidance and services of employment and labour market agencies.

To provide information in a modern way, we have established a unified email inbox at the address info-tujci@ess.gov.si and a section on the Employment Service of Slovenia website www.ess.gov.si/tujci. Information is prepared in seven languages, and we speak all the most commonly used foreign languages.

Implementation and Funding

The project is implemented from April 6, 2009, to September 30, 2015.

It is co-financed by the European Social Fund (85%), and 15% of the value is co-financed from the Slovenian national budget (the Ministry of Labour, Family, and Social Affairs).

The operation is carried out within the framework of the Operational Programme of Human Resources Development for the period 2007–2013 under:

4. Equal Opportunities and Promotion of Social Inclusion,
4.1 Equal Opportunities in the Labour Market and Strengthening Social Inclusion (based on Contract No. 2611-09-038502 between the Republic of Slovenia, Ministry of Labour, Family, and Social Affairs, and the Employment Service of Slovenia).