European partners inspired by Northern Netherlands' integration approach

How can people born outside the EU find a place in the Dutch labor market while making the best use of their qualities? And how do municipalities and knowledge institutions support them in this? These questions are central during a partner visit to the Northern Netherlands region for the Interreg Europe project MILEstone. This project is a collaboration between several European countries to promote sustainable integration of status holders in the labor market. During a three-day peer review, the MILEstone partners from Sweden, Finland and Germany will look at how local governments are tackling this in the northern region.

Current social and economic challenges in the northern Netherlands
An important part of the three-day visit of the MILEstone partners is to explore learning work initiatives in the municipality of Het Hogeland, an active stakeholder within the MILEstone project. Marije Joling, policy officer at the municipality, focuses on the labor market, work and reintegration in the region, among other things. She explains: “After their integration, status holders often remain dependent on welfare benefits because it is difficult for them to find independent work. At the same time, our region faces a labor shortage. The project offers opportunities to address both challenges by connecting these groups to the labor market.”
Arjen Edzes is also involved in MILEstone from the Hanze as a professor in Regional Labor Market. He emphasizes: “In the northern region we are dealing with a large number of status holders and asylum seekers, while in the current labor market and political climate it is a challenge to offer them a suitable place in the labor market. With this project we aim to gain valuable learning experiences together with our partners and apply them in our region.”
 

Learning and working in healthcare
The partners visited the WijkLeerbedrijf, a collaboration between Alfa-college, care institution De Hoven and the municipality of Het Hogeland. Here, status holders and others are trained through apprenticeships for positions in elderly care and domestic help. In addition to vocational training, participants take language lessons and learn about work ethics. Upon completion of the training, students receive an MBO diploma that is recognized throughout Europe.  Hylke Arends is involved in the WijkLeerbedrijf as a teacher at the Alfa-college and says: “Everyone is welcome, regardless of background. We look at what education and level fits best.”

Lisa's story
An inspiring example is Lisa, who fled from Africa to the Netherlands at the age of 21. Especially the beginning was incredibly difficult. At the time, she was single, pregnant with twins and didn't know anyone at all. After several places in asylum centers, she was finally assigned a house in Roodeschool. Thanks to support from the municipality of Het Hogeland, including childcare and language classes, she was able to complete her vocational training. She now works as an assistant nurse and is taking a level 3 course. Lisa: “I have always felt very welcome in the Netherlands. There is always someone who wants to help you. The municipality has done and still does an awful lot for me, but also my fellow students, teachers and neighbors.”

Making a difference
At the Ontwikkelplein in Uithuizen, participants learn skills in wood and metalworking in the Noorderhuizen project. Here, people from diverse backgrounds, including status holders, come together to gain practical experience. Jan Jongsma is coach and teacher and mentions that the Netherlands has a lot of opportunities in terms of training. The Ontwikkelplein has so far hosted about 120 status holders, many of whom have graduated. “That does an enormous amount to someone's self-confidence. That you can fulfill your dream and become what you want. And for myself, it's also very rewarding work. We can really make a difference here.”
Sometimes someone is highly educated in their country of origin. In that case, we work together with the Grotius program of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, which is a preparatory program for status holders who want to study in higher education.

Challenges
Although the aforementioned apprenticeship initiatives are successful, challenges also exist. Marije Joling: “First of all, the command of the Dutch language is very important to many employers. Employers expect employees to speak enough Dutch to understand instructions, safety regulations and questions, and to obtain a VCA certificate, for example. This can be difficult for status holders who have not been learning Dutch for long.”
Second, it takes time and understanding for employers to get used to the cultural differences. Although status holders are often excellent workers, mutual understanding is essential to make this cooperation successful.

Tops, tips and good practices
At the end of the visit to the Netherlands, the partners from Sweden, Finland and Germany share their tips and tops on the approach to integrating status holders in the northern labor market. Among other things, they express their appreciation for the personal approach between coaches and status holders, where status holders have the same coach for a long time and do not have to tell their story over and over again. They also speak highly of the cooperation between educational institutions and stakeholders, such as the municipality, which are visibly well aligned here.
In addition, the partners share inspiring examples from their own countries. For example, the German partner explains the Integration Network, in which municipalities, educational institutions and companies work together. This network facilitates low-threshold contact and offers practical solutions to questions and challenges surrounding integration. It proves to be an effective means of strengthening involvement and cooperation.

New insights
Program manager Adri Mertens emphasizes the value of international cooperation: “We are all in rapidly changing times politically. By sharing experiences and success factors, we can learn from each other and gain new insights.” Marije Joling agrees: “Cooperation with other countries helps us look beyond our own approach and shows how things are done elsewhere.”

Added value for the labor market
Adri Mertens sees that there are many differences between the European partners in approach and supply of apprenticeship activities, but there are also similarities. “Most status holders want to work very much, but lack the right connections or opportunities, so they stay in low-paying jobs, despite their potential and qualities. The problem lies in recognizing and valuing their abilities so that they end up in the right place in the labor market, where there is a high demand for personnel. Although the solution has not yet been found, the problem is widely recognized.”
Adri Mertens explains that this is also the ultimate goal of the MILEstone project: “We want to provide good policy advice to participating municipalities, so that the qualities of status holders from non-EU countries are better appreciated and they can be more of an added value to the labor market in our region.”

About MILEstone project
The Interreg Europe MILEstone project aims to give people born outside the European Union easy and sustainable access to the labor market. As these individuals often remain in low-income jobs where they cannot use their full skills, public authorities across Europe need to take additional measures to promote vocational training (lifelong learning) and business creation by non-EU nationals. The consortium is assisting in a number of policy learning activities to achieve public policy in this area. In the MILEstone project, the Hanze together with the Alfa-college collaborates with several partners from Sweden, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Slovenia and Poland, among others.

More information: https://www.interregeurope.eu/milestone