Inclusive Settlement of Young Asylum Seekers in a Rural Region: The Role of Informal Support and Mentoring

Abstract

In the last ten years, the settlement and integration of refugee families and asylum seekers have represented some of the main challenges faced by European territories. People in need of international protection can face challenges in being settled and integrated into rural areas where it is often difficult to find co-ethnic support networks. This case study provides relevant data on how the settlement of young asylum seekers is carried out in the main town of a rural area in Catalunya. It explores the impact of a mentoring programme which consists of providing informal support to newcomers in language acquisition (Catalan), as well as inclusion in the job market and social capital. We interviewed almost all participants of that programme in this rural area, gathering in-depth interviews with mentees (with eight young asylum seekers) and two discussion groups with their mentors (living in the main town of the region). Our findings showed that whereas the main objectives of the programme are providing linguistic support, social capital and inclusion to the job market, mentoring is more focused on providing emotional support and cultivating a sense of belonging. Various outcomes will be discussed which consider the types of support that were present in mentoring relationships and how bonding and bridging social capital were fostered, namely the elements that can promote a more inclusive and welcoming rural community.

Syrian Refugees’ Integration Policies in Jordanian Labor Market

“…It is a multi-dimensional process in terms that requires the actual participation of the refugee in the economic, social, cultural, civil, and political life of the new society [23].…”

Socializing Immigrant Jobseekers: The Role of Pre-Employment Mentoring Programs

“…Increasingly researchers (e.g., Crocitto et al, 2005;Mezias & Scandura, 2005) recognize that multiple mentors are needed to support expatriates at different stages of an international assignment (i.e., pre-departure, on-site, and repatriation). Furthermore, mentoring shows promises to increase immigrants' and refugees' access to employment (Månsson & Delander, 2017;Weiss & Tulin, 2019) and facilitate their social inclusion (Alarcón et al, 2021;Atkinson, 2018a). While limited, studies (e.g., Sonnenschein et al, 2018;Tran et al, 2022) point out that mentoring is an important strategy to help international graduates adjust to the host-country workplace and understand the labour market.…”

“…Many studies under review do not specify mentoring resources. In those that do, mentors share knowledge (e.g., information or advice) (Crocitto et al, 2005;Lee & Kartika, 2014), connections (Hansen & Rasmussen, 2016), cultural insight (Schuster et al, 2017), and provide emotional support (Alarcón et al, 2021) (2005) propose that multiple mentors contribute to the career development of expatriates and knowledge transfer across borders. Mentoring is an effective mechanism for transmitting both tacit and embedded knowledge.…”