Job readiness
The IRC will develop the framework for the Employment Services of the project. The provision of employment services includes “Job Readiness Trainings” for the beneficiaries of the project, which contains employment expectations, workplace culture and rules, interview practice and reliability establishment. The output of this activity will be a Job Readiness Training Guide, which will include transferrable lessons that may be applied to EU cities. The Guide will include procedures for the labor preparation and integration of refugees and will outline the specific conditions and how they have been overcome at the city of Athens. During the last 6 months of the project, IRC will help identify lessons learned and best practices in employment services to be taken into account for potential scale up or replication.
Refugee skills and strength-based assessment
IRC is supported by its technical advisory unit, which has vast experience of implementing employment service programs in urban refugee contexts around the world and in the US. Based on the IRCs’ developed methodology, the program will operate on a “strength-based approach”, which means that the strengths, skills and preferences of refugees will be assessed and used in the design of their own employment plan and selection to participate at the project complementing activities such as the hard skills and language trainings and activities in the city of Athens. The deliverable under this activity will be strength-based assessment of the project beneficiaries in order to better understand the short-term and long-term goals of refugees. The assessment report will cover refugees' goals, work history, skills and abilities, education, language proficiency, as well as the challenges, including legal and financial barriers that exist in their search for a job.
Private sector and training provider mapping
While conducting the refugee skills assessment, the project staff supported by IRC, will also work to identify interested employers in growth sectors, training providers, financial services providers and other private sector stakeholders that can support employment service provision for refugees. The mapping will be used by employment specialists to identify opportunities and provide information to refugee beneficiaries. IRC and partners will develop a specific plan of action to for engaging with the private sector and beneficiaries to encourage refugees’ integration into the labor market, engagement of potential employers, as well as the methodology to approach and engage these stakeholders.