Beyond employability: refugees’ working lives

Abstract

The so-called "refugee crisis" put forced migration to the core of Europe in a way not seen for years. Since then, a plethora of unsolved global issues which have effects on more privileged nation-states in the global North has once again came to the fore. This is especially true for the EU member states who may hardly be conceived as unitary in confronting the challenges forced migration implies for nation-states. The so-called "receiving countries" have often set aside the humanitarian aspect of granting asylum. From their point of view, there is an increased economic interest in refugees with higher formal qualifications and work experience, who could be integrated comparatively easily into the national work forces without further investments. At the same time, such refugees would also serve national economic interests by strengthening qualified labor. Compared to earlier years of reception, several parts of Europe have thus encountered another period of numerous arriving and at least temporarily resident refugees.

Well-Being without Employment? Promoting the Employability of Refugees

“…However, although there are 70 million refugees in the world [ 25 ], few studies have shown interest in them. It is likely that refugees’ social barriers, such as legal regulations or missing employability skills [ 33 ], have been the “missing link” [ 34 ], and refugees have been excluded from participating in labor market integration [ 26 ]. This corresponds to an important increase in the poverty risk rate [ 41 ], which has been called the refugee crisis [ 42 ].…”

“…However, according to Álvarez, Favieres, Muñiz, Senante, Valiente, and Amorós [ 25 ], there are 70 million refugees in the world. The European Union member states do not unitarily confront the challenges of forced migration [ 26 ], and the Mediterranean is the most perilous migration route. In 2019, 118,264 people requested international protection in Spain, which represents an increase of 118.7% compared to 2018.…”

“…This situation makes it possible “to live productively, happily and healthily” [ 32 ] (p. 308). However, in most EU countries, refugees are excluded from participation in the labor market [ 26 ]. Correa–Velez, Barnett, and Gifford [ 33 ] state that entering the labor market is difficult for refugees and that some of them experience high social barriers (legal regulations, few bridging institutions between them and their labor integration, racism, a lack of experience with the labor market of the host country, and missing employability skills for this country).…”

Dynamiques identitaires et sens d’un projet de formation au cours de la procédure d’asile

“…Toutefois, ils ne bénéficient ni de conseil en orientation, ni de soutien financier, ce qui a pour conséquence qu'une formation en dehors des cours à bas seuil leur est presque inaccessible en pratique. Nombreux sont les travaux qui interrogent les politiques de prise en charge des demandeurs d'asile dans les différents pays européens (Agier, 2002 ;Caloz-Tschopp, 2004 ;Laacher, 2013 ;Noiriel, 1991 ;Valluy, 2005) ainsi que leur impact sur l'accès au marché du travail et sur les dispositifs de formation (Bertrand, 2020 ;Scheibelhofer, 2019 ;Scheibelhofer & Täubig, 2019). En ce qui concerne les personnes récemment arrivées et soumises à la procédure d'asile, elles sont maintenues en marge de la société dans la mesure où elles sont susceptibles d'être renvoyées à tout instant.…”

“…Des travaux récents étudient également l'impact de ces politiques de maintien à l'écart sur « l'agency », le pouvoir d'action des personnes concernées (Scheibelhofer & Täubig, 2019). Scheibelhofer et Täubig constatent en effet que les demandeurs d'asile sont maintenus dans la passivité, n'ayant accès que de façon très restreinte au marché du travail (Bertrand, 2020), à des cours de langue et offres de formation.…”