EQUAL - PRESTO - The Partnership for Refugee Employment through Support, Training and On-Line Learning

PRESTO - The Partnership for Refugee Employment through Support, Training and On-Line Learning

Logo for PRESTO - The Partnership for Refugee Employment through Support, Training and On-Line Learning www.prestopartnership.org.uk

Description

Background

The PRESTO DP aims to test and disseminate innovative approaches to training and employment packages to support and improve the employment prospects of refugee professionals specifically in the Health, Education and Engineering sectors. The PRESTO DP also works with refugee entrepreneurs, refugee women and refugees with disabilities.

Aims

Develop integration strategies and progression pathways for refugee professionals
Address discrimination in the recognition of overseas qualifications
Identify models of best practice in refugee training, training materials and methodologies
Offer work placement opportunities as well as tailored labour market orientation courses to help overcome cultural and market unfamiliarity
Provide support for self employment by embedding enterprise into training provision
Develop new approaches using ICT
Liaise with stakeholders in the public, private and voluntary sectors, developing effective lobbying strategies to shape policy that actively integrates and empowers refugee professionals
Work with employers by developing a better mutual understanding between refugees and employers through awareness raising
Explore the incorporation of European refugee integration best practice into the design and delivery of the project.

Objectives

Establishing systematic and coherent pathways for refugee professionals
Promoting statutory flexibility around work placements and volunteering opportunities for refugees
Increasing direct input by refugees into the planning and development of integration services
Informing the development and implementation of the Refugee Integration Strategy in London
Providing access for refugees to free English language provision irrelevant of their employment status
Mainstreaming refugee employment and training opportunities through equality and diversity streams.

Activities

Providing a forum for information sharing between PRESTO partners and other key stakeholders
Providing a forum for actioning opportunities for current and future joint working
Ensuring synergy and avoiding duplication and bottom-up project development
Ensuring a strategic approach to mainstreaming and dissemination
Working with the Building Bridges Steering Group
Working with the Refugees into Teaching Project and wider Teachers Task Force Strategy (Refugee Teachers Hub)
Working with LORECA and the Board for Refugee Integration in London.
Creating an Advisory Group facilitated by the Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit (RAGU) at London Metropolitan University for the planning and delivery of activities, thus allowing refugee professionals to be actively engaged with the development and evaluation of services designed for them.

Target Groups

Refugees

Round

Round 1 to Round 2

PRESTO has built on project activity developed by the Round One Development Partnership, LEADER. The LEADER project was divided into four parts, two of which have been carried forward by PRESTO.

Lead partner

Education Action International >>

Transnational partnerships

Information for Transnational partnerships

End-dates

Action 2: 31 March 2008
Action 3: 31 March 2008

Equal theme

Ethnic minorities

Origins

PRESTO builds on the activity of the Round One Development Partnership, LEADER.

Beneficiaries

Refugees
Total beneficiaries: Circa. 500

Achievements

PRESTO itself found it difficult to identify and evaluate its achievements. Partners were initially geared up to meet funder targets, and later to grapple with the difficulties of achieving mainstreaming and policy impact, and often failed to note that they were actually producing results.
656 refugees came through PRESTO services, and most of them left with a qualification, many with employment, and almost all of them with some hope of using their skills and qualifications. The partnership was responsible for the delivery of high quality services by a range of partners, focusing mainly on the needs of refugee professionals.
Some of these services were innovative and some worked remarkably well. In February 2007, an internal showcasing event was the first place where staff involved at all levels became aware of the range and depth of the work covered by all of PRESTO and were able to celebrate PRESTO’s achievements.

Intended impact/ sustainability

The Development Partnership will impact local, regional, national and European strategy on the proper utilisation of migrant skills as a key economic development driver. The activities of the DP will also help mainstream refugee employment and training opportunities through equality and diversity streams.

Scatter plot

	City	Local	Regional	National	European
Process		X	X	X	X
Practice	X
Product	X	X	X
Policy	X			X

Process/Local

To empower asylum seekers and enable their rapid transition into the labour market through a holistic package of support.

Process/Regional

PRESTO delivers focused activity in regional areas identified as having large concentrations of asylum seekers, and is a key member of EASI.

Process/National

Focused empowerment activity across regions and sub-regions has profiled the partnership's work nationally and through EASI.

Process/European

PRESTO empowerment activity is shared with European Partners in Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Practice/City

PRESTO delivers capacity building support to refugee communities through effective partnership working practice at local, regional, national and European level.

Product/City

DP alliance with EASI to deliver services to refugees in the UK and Europe.

Product/Local

PRESTO/EASI Referral Procedure.

Product/Regional

DP referral database.

Policy/City

Policy issues of this Development Partnership are directed to Employability Forum.

Policy/National

PRESTO Development Partnership aims are linked to the DWP Refugee Employment Strategy.

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Connections

PRESTO Legacy site

www.prestopartnership.org.uk >>

PRESTO Partnership legacy website. More >>

Elaine James >>

Add a new connection >>

Main outputs

PRESTO Evaluation Reports >> A series of evaluation reports was commissioned by PRESTO in late 2005.

Activities and products

Advice Guides >> As the PRESTO partnership included both refugee agencies and mainstream organisations, RAGU felt it was important to have a general guide for advisers that could provide the basic information that anyone working with refugee professionals would need. Expand/collapse

Products (3)

Circuit Rider >>The PRESTO Circuit Rider project worked with refugees to develop their capacity as mobile ICT workers by building on existing skills and developing new ones that focused on non-technical aspects of ICT.

Diversity Works >>Since RAGU started their placement programme ‘Diversity Works’ in 2002, they have successfully placed over 20 refugees in local authorities. Expand/collapse

Products (1)

Enterprise and Business Start-Up >> The UK has a number of successful companies that were started by refugees - however, many refugees find it difficult to benefit from business start-up services here. Expand/collapse

Products (4)

Geminschaftliche EP Nachaltigkeit und Innovation im Arbeitsmarkt - GENIA is a transnational partnership

Geminschaftliche EP Nachaltigkeit und Innovation im Arbeitsmarkt - GENIA >>The GENIA development partnership focuses on urban as well as rural structures in the Wiser-Ems region.

PRESTO Learning >> A series was produced by the PRESTO project, aimed at passing on advice to other practitioners and policy-makers about what has been learnt while implementing and disseminating the results of the project. Expand/collapse

Products (5)

Refugee Engineers >> There are a number of engineers in refugee communities in the UK with valuable skills and experience who are currently unemployed or underemployed in work that does not take advantage of their skills. Expand/collapse

Products (3)

Refugee Health Professionals >> The work of the PRESTO partnership has been important in undertaking mapping exercises of alternative career pathways, assessing job placements for refugee health professionals and in supporting the Building Bridges initiative. Expand/collapse

Products (1)

Refugee Teachers >> The PRESTO partnership developed the work carried out under Round One of Equal funding, in particular through continuing support for the Refugee Teachers Steering Group and the Refugee Teachers Task Force. Expand/collapse

Products (9)

Further Education and ESOL Funding >>ESOL and Further Education Funding Changes 2007/08 announced by the Learning and Skills Council - A Briefing Paper issued by the Refugee Council .

Job Centre Plus Refugee Operational Framework >> The JOb Centre Plus (JCP) Operational Framework brings together information, guidance and support for JCP staff in identifying and addressing key issues to support refugees seeking employment and claiming benefits.

London Enriched - Conference Report >> The report from the "London Enriched: Learning and Action for Refugee Employment, Training and Enterprise" conference, held on 17th October 2007.

Making it Work - Asylum and Refugee Experiences >>A report of a one day conference called Making it Work: Asylum and Refugee Experiences that was held in London and organised by the EASI and PRESTO Development Partnerships.

PRESTO/EASI Referral Handbook >>A handbook produced by the PRESTO and EASI Development Partnerships, who aim to promote more effective partnership working between partner organisations by developing and implementing an effective referral system through the development of: a Referral Procedure; a Referral Database; and this Referral Handbook.

Refugee Integration & Employment Conference >>A conference organised by the Employability Forum in conjunction with TimeBank took place in March 2007 to discuss refugee integration and employment in the UK.

Response to Home Office Consultation >>The PRESTO Development Partnership convened a meeting on 22nd November 2006 to consider the Home Office’s document on the future of refugee integration services in England.

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