People that flee from their home country seeking shelter in another country have a history; they have gone to school, many have worked, they have acquired qualifications and skills. If host countries could make use of the qualifications and skills of refugees this would contribute to economic and social inclusion of refugees, which would benefit both the host country, and the refugee. Turkey hosts around three million registered Syrian refugees. This poses enormous challenges to the country, finding the economic resources to ensure refugees' living conditions, as well as the social and... [+] Show more
People that flee from their home country seeking shelter in another country have a history; they have gone to school, many have worked, they have acquired qualifications and skills. If host countries could make use of the qualifications and skills of refugees this would contribute to economic and social inclusion of refugees, which would benefit both the host country, and the refugee. Turkey hosts around three million registered Syrian refugees. This poses enormous challenges to the country, finding the economic resources to ensure refugees' living conditions, as well as the social and cultural difficulties of their integration into the Turkish society. Early entry into the labour market helps refugees become self-sufficient and gives them the time, energy and resources to actively engage with their host community. Many refugees in Turkey are working but almost all of them are employed in informal, low paid jobs. In areas where Syrian refugees are residing in big numbers, this informal employment pushes the wages down and causes an unfair competition for local people.
This report explores procedures for recognition and validation of qualifications and skills for refugees in a number of European countries. Recognition and validation are important elements of qualification systems that can contribute to labour market integration of refugees, migrants and local citizens. Qualifications Frameworks can serve as a useful tool for the assessment of qualifications and skills in relation to qualification framework levels, learning outcomes and workload. Local authorities can develop procedures for recognition and validation as part of National Qualifications Frameworks tools and instruments. This report does not provide an exhaustive overview of initiatives but presents a selection of practices in Europe that might inspire authorities and stakeholders in Turkey and contribute to their debate about improving skills and labour market integration of refugees and host communities.
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