Integration & Employment
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2018 Integration & Employment Nordic Town Twinning Tuusula Oppegård Sollentuna Hvidovre Description of the integration process ______________________________________________________________________________ Indhold Hvidovre............................................................................................................................................... 2 The initial integration processes ...................................................................................................... 2 The immigrant population in Hvidovre ........................................................................................... 2 Integration-oriented efforts nationally and in Hvidovre .................................................................. 3 Tuusula ................................................................................................................................................. 5 The immigrant population in Tuusula .............................................................................................. 5 Employment services ....................................................................................................................... 5 Integration measures ........................................................................................................................ 6 A local plan ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Sollentuna............................................................................................................................................. 8 Oppegård ............................................................................................................................................ 10 The Norwegian settlement model .................................................................................................. 10 The Introduction Act and introduction programme ....................................................................... 10 Integration of refugees in the labour force in Oppegård ................................................................ 10 Attachment ..................................................................................................................................... 11 1 Description of the integration process ______________________________________________________________________________ HVIDOVRE The initial integration processes After several years with a significant increase in the number of residence permits granted to refugees, the number has fallen greatly over the last couple of years. In 2017, 4.000 refugees are expected to obtain a residence permit in Denmark, after which they will be moved to a designated municipality where they will reside and participate in an integration program. In addition, several family reunificated relatives and immigrants will also arrive in the municipalities. The entire group are subject to the Integration Act, which purpose is to allow new arrivals to participate in the labour market and expand their qualifications in the labor market and in Danish society in general. Based on this estimate, the Danish Immigration Service determines regional allowances for the distribution of newly arrived refugees, and the municipalities will then agree on the mutual distribution within the region concerned. The quotas must ensure a smooth distribution of refugees in Denmark ensuring an even distribution of refugees within the municipalities. When the Immigration Service allocates refugees to the Danish regions and municipalities, they pay attention to the immigrant's linguistic and cultural background, their family ties, special needs and wishes etc. They also look at the location and size of the municipality, the composition of the population, the labour market and educational opportunities. The immigrant population in Hvidovre In Hvidovre, we expect to receive 22 refugees in 2017, and the relatively low number is due to the fact that foreigners from non-western countries already make up 14 % of the municipality's population. After Hvidovre has taken over the responsibility for the new citizen, the municipality must help them with housing, cash assistance, social security numbers and medical help. In addition to this, Hvidovre has been challenged to find affordable housing for the newly arrived refugees, which is partly due to the new immigrant’s relatively low Integration Benefit (a particularly low transfer income granted to immigrants and other residents who have stayed in Denmark for less than seven out of eight years). In Hvidovre, some immigrants have also had difficulty adjusting to local social norms and house rules that exist in a residential area. This has resulted in some refugees being evicted from their home or that Hvidovre municipality has stopped referring refugees to certain residential areas because of local resentment. By 2015, there were 9.480 immigrants and descendants in Hvidovre, of which 7.348 were from non-western countries (primarily Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and China). They have a varied educational background; ranging from no schooling, to craftsmen and agricultural workers, to medium or higher education. The group of immigrants and descendants from non-western countries make up 16% of the working age population in Hvidovre (16-64 years), and 21% of the citizens on social benefits. Therefore, they represent a greater proportion of people on public benefits than those of the working 2 Description of the integration process ______________________________________________________________________________ age. The group of immigrants and descendants is in general overrepresented among Hvidovre’s recipients of social benefits. Integration-oriented efforts nationally and in Hvidovre Adult refugees and family reunificated relatives in Denmark are subjected to the Integration Act and must be offered a special integration program when they are granted a residence permit. A program, which primary purpose is to contribute to a rapid self-sufficiency through employment. The integration program has a duration of one year, but if the immigrant does not gain access to the labour market within this period, the integration program must be extended. However, the total integration program may last for a maximum of five years. In Hvidovre, it is rare for the program to end after one year and it’s not unusual for it to be expanded to the maximum period. Approximately 16% of the working age population in Hvidovre are immigrants and descendants from non-western countries. The integration program should commence no later than one month after the municipality has taken over the responsibility for a refugee, and in addition to ensuring employment or education, the integration program shall support rapid and appropriate integration into the Danish society. This must be done by supporting the refugees and their reunificated family members in acquiring the linguistic, cultural and labour market knowledge, necessary to participate in community life. According to the Integration Act, the immigrants must be offered a continuous enterprise-oriented effort in the form of business practice or employment with wage subsidies. The effort should be supplemented with offers of Danish education and, if necessary, guidance and upgrading. For the immigrants who are closest to the labour market, there must be a maximum of 6 weeks between each business-oriented offer in the form of business practice or employment with wage subsidies. However, this is not the case for those refugees who have major barriers in the form of social, mental or health-related problems. In Hvidovre, the focus is primarily on language and labour initiatives, while the cultural effort takes place in informal networks in civil society. Therefore, our integration programs consist of Danish education and employment-oriented offers in the form of guidance and upgrading, internships and employment with wage subsidies. The business-oriented offers must have an average of at least 15 hours a week, it is therefore also possible to combine these with Danish language courses. 3 Description of the integration process ______________________________________________________________________________ Nevertheless, it is difficult for Hvidovre to find enough employers to offer a continuous business- oriented effort, and therefore hampers the requirements of the integration program. As a result, we collaborate with a private company that helps us find internships for the immigrants in the integration program, and the duration of these is typically 13 weeks (the minimum requirement by the law is four weeks). We believe that a long-term course is meaningful for both the employer and the trainee. Another challenge is that a large part of the group finds it difficult to adhere to the above-mentioned requirements of the Integration Act (especially the elderly and those with few resources). Some of them may also have difficulty finding the requirements meaningful, which affects their motivation. As something new, a special basic integration education (IGU) has been introduced in 2016, which consists of a three-year pilot scheme aimed at refugees and family reunified citizens. The integration education lasts two years and includes employment in a paid internship at a company, and a concurrent school education. A bonus scheme has also been introduced so that private companies can obtain an economic bonus if they hire refugees and family reunified relatives