heks

Well-qualified migrants often experience discrimination when seeking work in Switzerland and are faced with a so-called downgrading of their skills. One of the main reasons for this problem is a lack of language skills. On top of this come a lack of knowledge about the labour market and issues with the recognition of skills and qualifications. They have no network here and virtually no experience of working in Switzerland. As successful integration goes hand in hand with involvement at different levels of society, this project is of crucial importance to integration.

The project is setting up a system whereby migrants receive support from experts, or mentors, who are in the same profession and have experience of working in Switzerland. The migrants come from a variety of professions and have equally varied qualifications. The mentors work on a voluntary basis. The benefit to them is a good level of integration in the field in which they work. Their help may consist in approaching potential employers, in connection with the recognition of qualifications for example, initiating trial periods of employment, contacting other experts in their field, or meeting up with migrants to talk about the sector concerned, how it is regulated and how it works. The mentoring arrangement lasts for a maximum of one year. It is left to the mentor and protégé to decide how often they meet up.