UPGRADE, Upskilling Refugees and Adult Educators

UPGRADE project consists in extending and developing the competences of low skilled migrant populations and educators/ professionals working in organisations, providing support to them, in order to assist them in the long-run in promoting a new dynamic training material for up-skilling low qualified adult refugees/migrants (linguisting support, soft and sector skills etc) resulting to access to job opportunities in the host country and to re-skill educators who work with refugees/migrants through a multicultural capacity building methodology.
This will be done via following outcomes:

1. Capacity Building Training Course
2. ReSupportMI e-tool Capacity Building (online guidance space for migrants and communication tool among professionals working with this specific target group)
3. Multicultural and Skills assessment Tools for professionals working with migrants

The project has been designed based on the partners’ experience and understanding of professionals working with migrants needs and refugees/migrants learners. The project will bring together 6 partners from 4 different countries wishing to promote citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination, strengthening social cohesion and helping people become responsible, open-minded and active members of our diverse and inclusive society by enriching adult educators’ intercultural competences.

The project’s expected results are the following:

• Increase the quality of services offered to refugees/migrants in the future;
• Fostering the integration process and refugees/ migrants’ economic participation in society;
• Improved levels of skills awareness for employability of refugees/ migrants;
• Enhancing civic orientation and active citizenship of refugees/migrants
• Increasing opportunities for refugees/migrants for professional development;
• Creating links between the host society and m refugees/migrants’ communities;
• Development of competences in dealing with inter-cultural conflicts;
• Promoting an awareness of the importance of cultural diversity in Europe;
• Promoting understanding of cultural backgrounds and providing reflection in order to increase tolerance and to reduce prejudices and xenophobia.

The UPGRADE project is expected to have an overall significant impact on participants (refugees/ migrants, professionals working with migrants) competences and multicultural mindsets. Among the expected impacts: Fostering the integration process and migrants’ economic participation in society; Enhancing social inclusion and active citizenship via cross-cultural acceptance, improved understanding of multicultural environments and diversity concepts; Strengthening the role of host communities in the personal and professional development of refugees/ migrants.

The project’s innovation and added value lies in the very fact that it does not merely seek to train trainers and refugees/migrants. The project goes beyond the training scheme as it incorporates the promotion of EU cultural diversity, access in OLS (Linguistic Support Tool) and the utility of EU Skills Profile Tool.