Conference Agenda

Migration has become an increasingly discussed topic among all spheres of life be it policy circles, media or the general public. Further, migration has been greatly politicised as during the past years Europe has experienced considerable number of migrants arriving. It is therefore in the individual countries' interest that the migrant population is socially and economically integrated, hence engage with education and training, and employment. Migrants arrive to European countries with different backgrounds and most are eager to continue their disrupted lives by engaging with learning, finding employment (Learning and Work Institute, 2019) and become fully integrated member of a community again.

However, there is a significant issue about migrants arriving with qualifications that are not described in terms that are used, recognised, and understood in the receiving country (Laczik and Lasonen 2010; Laczik, 2014; Busse et al., submitted) or gained work-experience in their country of origin that is undervalued and unacknowledged in their new home. This places them in an unfavourable situation. Heath and Cheung (2007) argue that these migrants form a new segment of disadvantaged people in the Western societies. In order to pre-empt this happening or remedy this, vocational education and training (VET) together with developing language skills of the country of residence can play a crucial role. VET and pre-VET provisions can offer migrants learning opportunities that equip them with the skills and knowledge, and certificate to become successful in their chosen career (Stalder et al., 2024). VET schools, enterprises and other establishments can act as enabling local learning ecosystems that is based on communications among different stakeholders (Spours and Grainger, 2018; Buchanan et al., 2017; Aerne and Bonoli, 2023) to enhance migrants experiences and equip them with the skills and knowledge to navigate their career. The concept of an ecosystem helps to enhance our understanding of how individuals (including migrants themselves), networks, and institutions interact to enhance migrants' learning, training and later working experiences that may lead to their economic and social integration.

It is vitally important to identify and understand what makes vocational provisions targeted to migrants successful. How individuals, networks, and institutions working together may create an enabling ecosystem that may enhance migrants' opportunities and may lead to their social and economic integration? In what manner do the life transitions of migrants manifest within this ecosystem? These questions will be discussed during the symposium that will bring together three European countries, four national contexts, namely Austria, Germany, England and Switzerland.

In Switzerland, as in many European countries, refugees aged 16 to 35 face significant employment challenges, often lacking the necessary educational and vocational credentials for qualified work (Aerne & Bonoli, 2021; Spadarotto et al., 2014). The Swiss government has launched the Integration Agenda Switzerland IAS to enhance refugees' job prospects, proposing post-compulsory (vocational) education for this age group. One of its key initiatives is the one-year pre-vocational programme (pre-apprenticeship for integration, PAI), which was launched in 2018 (Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft et al., 2018; Stalder et al., 2024) and has been running successfully since then. The PAI combines in-company training with school-based education and is offered in various occupational fields like the building trade, hospitality, sales, and care. Using resource theory (Hobfoll et al., 2018), the job characteristic theory (Hackman & Oldham, 1980), and their application to the field of dual VET (Stalder & Lüthi, 2020), previous research has explored the PAI programme's role in fostering career success among participating refugees (Stalder et al., 2024). It was found that both situational resources (i.e., high-quality learning environment in the workplace and vocational school) and refugees' individual resources contribute to their successful transition to a regular VET programme. Essential situational resources include high learning opportunities and close guidance from supervisors, teachers, and coaches. Crucial individual resources are, amongst others, refugees' language skills, effort, and career aspirations. Expanding our knowledge about the effectiveness of the PAI programme, this contribution focuses on the less successful refugees: Those who have not succeeded in enrolling in the PAI and those who left the programme before its end. The latter concerns about one out of six persons. Using monitoring data on 4000 PAI participants from 2018 to 2023, we first examine the individuals' resources of refugees who did not follow the programme, exploring their alternative pathways and their opportunities to enter a regular VET programme directly. We second compare their resources and career success with refugees participating in the PAI programme. We assume that those who did not enrol in the PAI a) have more limited individual resources than those participants and, consequently, b) have lower chances of entering a regular VET programme. The findings will be discussed in the light of resource theory and highlight the risks and challenges of educational measures such as the PAI.

Aerne, A., & Bonoli, G. (2021). Integration through vocational training. Promoting refugees' access to apprenticeships in a collective skill formation system. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2021.1894219 Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1980). Work redisign. Addison-Wesley. Hobfoll, S. E., Halbesleben, J., Neveu, J.-P., & Westman, M. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5(1), 103-128. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032117-104640 Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft et al. (2018). Die Integrationsagenda kurz erklärt. https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/data/sem/integration/agenda/faktenblatt-integrationsagenda-d.pdf Spadarotto, C., Bieberschulte, M., Walker, K., Morlok, M., & Oswald, A. (2014). Erwerbsbeteiligung von anerkannten Flüchtlingen und vorläufig Aufgenommenen auf dem Schweizer Arbeitsmarkt. Im Auftrag des Bundesamts für Migration, Abteilung Integration. Stalder, B. E., Kammermann, M., Michel, I., & Schönbächler, M.-T. (2024). Successful integration of refugees in vocational education and training: Experiences from a new pre-vocational programme. In M. Teräs, E. Eliasson, & A. Osman (Eds.), Migration, education and employment: Pathways to successful integration (pp. 133-154). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41919-5 Stalder, B. E., & Lüthi, F. (2020). Job resources and career success of IVET graduates in Switzerland: A different approach to exploring the standing of VET. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 72(2), 189-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2020.1721735

The issue of integration of refugees into the labour market has become increasingly important in Switzerland in recent years, particularly since the arrival of large numbers of refugees in Europe in 2015 and 2016. Previously, Swiss integration policies were characterised by federalism, leaving each canton to manage its own objectives and resources in this area. In 2019, the country adopted the Swiss Integration Agenda, which is now binding on all cantons. It emphasises rapid language acquisition and preparation for the labour market (Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, 2018). A pre-apprenticeship integration programme (PAI) has been introduced, and adopted by 18 cantons, with the aim of preparing refugees for dual vocational education and training leading to a Swiss VET certificate. The aim of the PAI is two-fold: to give refugees easier access to training and jobs and to provide the labour market with skilled workers in sectors that are short of new recruits. Among the various players who collaborate in the PAI, in-company trainers play a key role, as they decide who gets access to in-company training by offering an apprenticeship contract. Guidance in companies has a major influence on the learning of work-related skills and thus on the development of apprentices' professional skills (Stalder et al., 2021; Stalder et al., 2024). The literature on workplace learning highlights the importance of workplace learning support for the success of VET (Billett, 2001; Swager et al., 2015). Thus, it is important to generate knowledge about the forms of guidance by trainers. This paper is based on preliminary results of a study on support for refugee apprentices in the workplace and its link with the development of their agency in four Swiss cantons. It is based on ongoing qualitative interviews (totaling 40) with in-company trainers who provide guidance to PAI apprentices in various professions. A first interview shows the importance of providing support tailored to the skills, life history and current living conditions of refugee apprentices. It points out that this support is based on a relationship depending on both the trainer and the apprentice. The trainer must be prepared to sometimes rethink the way in which he or she conceives the relationship and look for new solutions. Refugee apprentices also bring with them very different levels of prior skills, requiring individual adaptation of the responsibilities and tasks assigned. With the ongoing data collection and analysis, more detailed insights will be presented at the conference.

Billett, S. (2001). Learning through work: workplace affordances and individual engagement. Journal of Workplace Learning, 13(5), 209-214. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005548 Swager, R., Klarus, R., van Merriënboer Jeroen, J. G., & Nieuwenhuis Loek, F. M. (2015). Constituent aspects of workplace guidance in secondary VET. European Journal of Training and Development, 39(5), 358-372. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-01-2015-0002 SCHWEIZERISCHE EIDGENOSSENSCHAFT (2018): Integrationsagenda Schweiz. https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home/integration-einbuergerung/integrationsfoerderung/kantonale-programme/integrationsagenda.html Stalder, B. E., Kammermann, M., Lehmann, S., & Schönbächler, M.-T. (2021). Pre-Apprenticeship for Refugees in Switzerland. In C. Nägele, B. E. Stalder, & M. Weich (Eds.). Pathways in Vocational Education and Training and Lifelong Learning. Proceedings of the 4th Crossing Boundaries Conference in Vocational Education and Training. Muttenz and Bern online, 8. –9. April (332-337). European Research Network on Vocational Education and Training, VETNET, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland and Bern University of Teacher Education. Stalder, B.E., Kammermann, M., Michel, I., Schönbächler, M.-T. (2024). Successful Integration of Refugees in Vocational Education and Training: Experiences from a New Pre-vocational Programme. In M. Teräs, A. Osman, E. Eliasson (Eds.). Migration, Education and Employment. Pathways to Successful Integration (Vol. 10), 133-154). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41919-5_9

England's vocational education and training system (VET) has been criticised for several decades (Wolf, 2011). While its shortcomings have been explored to some extent (Chankseliani et al., 2016; Lupton, 2021), experiences of VET for young people with a migrant background did not receive much attention (McPherson et al., 2024). This scoping study explores issues about how VET helps young migrants integrate into the education system, the labour market, and local communities and societies. By looking at the role of VET in their transition through education and the labour market, the study presents (a) some of the core issues young people from different migrant backgrounds experience, (b) the challenges colleges and private providers face in providing effective VET offerings and (c) good practices supporting young people to achieve favourable outcomes. To realise our research aims, we use qualitative, in-depth interviews and focus groups with young people (aged 16-21) from different migrant backgrounds, migration histories and educational trajectories who continue their education in further education colleges and the practitioners who actively work with young people with migrant backgrounds. Based on the interviews we had with sixteen young learners and two practitioners who work with migrant young people and one national/regional ESOL coordinator, our results show diverse experiences for migrant young people. Most young people spoke of their colleges favourably, although they mentioned various issues that may hinder progression. Among these, professional spoken and written language skills were the most prevalent. They pointed out a mismatch between their aspirations and the courses they were placed in. Nevertheless, most acknowledged the valuable skills set they developed. The English and maths qualifications that are necessary to progress to higher-level qualifications prevent some young people from continuing with their educational aspirations even if these particular aspirations are practical and do not necessitate the required levels of English and maths. Practitioners in our study highlighted a range of complementary topics which were rarely recognised by young people in the study, namely young people being placed in lower-level courses than their ability due to their language skills and a change in the funding arrangements at the age of 18, which limits their options at a crucial point in their education paths. Our results highlight a gap in migrant-specific support and guidance in the VET area, a need to overhaul the funding system for them, and a more comprehensive careers advice provision for young people with a migrant background.

Chankseliani, M., Relly, S.J. and Laczik, A. (2016) Overcoming vocational prejudice: how can skills competitions improve the attractiveness of vocational education and training in the UK? British Educational Research Journal, 42(4): 582-599. Lupton, R., Thomson, S., Velthuis, S., and Unwin, L. (2021) Moving on from initial GCSE ‘failure’: Post-16 transitions for ‘lower attainers’ and why the English education system must do better. London: Nuffield. McPherson, C., Bayrakdar, S., Gewirtz, S., Maguire, M., Weavers, A., Laczik, A. and Winch, C. (in press), ‘Promoting more equitable post-school transitions: learning from the experiences of migrant youth in England’ in Promoting Inclusive Systems for Migrants in Education, Downes, P., Anderson, J., Behtoui, A. and Van Praag, L. (Eds.), Routledge. Wolf, A. (2011) Review of Vocational Education, London: Department for Education.

It is well-established in educational research and sociology that education (formal, non-formal and informal) plays a key role in the inclusion and integration of migrants into hosting societies socially, culturally, economically, and politically (Fejes & Dahlstedt, 2017, Shan, 2015). However, a close look at the research reveals that there is a lack of representation of migrant women, even though there were recent critical and feminist studies focusing on migrant women, especially in Europe (Erel, 2007), and especially inquiring the learning experiences and processes of embedded within their life biographies. Primary objective of this study is to explore the learning biographies of Turkish migrant women in Germany and Austria who have different education and migration histories in order to understand their educational trajectories and investigate the role of these learning activities on their personal lives and their integration reflecting on individual and systemic differences. I aim for depicting the participation to learning and the transformative role of learning for Turkish migrant women in German and Austrian society as well understanding how their learning biography aligns with their life course and transition. Questions that guide my study are: 1. How do Turkish migrant women construct perceptions of learning and education, and in what ways do these constructions contribute to shaping their experiences as migrants? 2. How does the process of learning play a role in fostering social inclusion and integration within the German labour market for Turkish migrant women based on individual and systemic characteristics? 3. In what ways are the learning biographies of Turkish migrant women configured, and how do these biographies correspond to their life courses, revealing the dynamic interplay between personal learning experiences and broader life trajectories? This study uses a life course approach, which includes in-depth narrative/biographical interviews with Turkish migrant women according to sampling criteria (migration year and education level). I aim to capture “the objective shape and formation of life courses as well as their subjective biographical meaning” in relation to learning (Wingens et al., 2011, p. 6). As it is an ongoing study, (I am continuing to recruit participants and conducting interviews) I am not able to report results, but first interviews (5 women, all first-in-family academics) provide insights about how highly skilled women’s educational biography aligns with their integration and self-identification and the effect of formal learning on their perception of education.

Erel, U. (2007). Constructing Meaningful Lives: Biographical Methods in Research on Migrant Women, Sociological Research Online, 12 (4), http://www.socresonline.org.uk /12/4/5.html.doi:10.5153/sro.1573 Fejes, A., & Dahlstedt, M. (2017). Popular education, migration and a discourse of inclusion. Studies in the Education of Adults, 49(2), 214-227 https://doi.org/10.1080/02660830.2018.1463656 Shan, H., (2015). Distributed pedagogy of difference: reimagining immigrant training and education. Canadian journal for studies in adult education, 27 (3), 1–16.134. Wingens, M., de Walk, H., Windzio, M., & Aybek, C. (2011). The Sociological Life Course Approach and Research on Migration and Integration. In M. Wingens, H. de Walk, M. Windzio, & C. Aybek (Eds.) A Life-Course Perspective on Migration and Integration. Springer, pp: 126.