BEST – Boosting Entrepreneurial Skills as Tool of integration of migrants to labour market

BEST project is a joint endeavour of 7 partners from Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy that have the common motivation to improve the effective integration of Third country nationals (TCN) into the labour market through cooperation between public and private institutions. The BEST project emerged when working on projects that have as main focus economic and social integration of migrants where the need of offering specific strategies to TCN who would like to become self-employed and/or open their own business emerged. Self-employment is one of the most successful tools to create a long-term labour integration, creating a win-win situation for all the players and increase the integration of TCN in different levels.

Through BEST, the consortium will implement social entrepreneurship trainings in each partner-country and establish effective cooperation with public key-stakeholders such as Chambers of Commerce and Employment Service aiming to:

1) facilitate the management of migrant integration (e.g. by matching their skills with those needed) and designing a tailored training program with blended learning;

2) deliver better and customised services which match the specific needs of TCN;

3) define and implement more efficient integration strategies at local level for a sustainable inclusion of migrants and a fact-based public perception of migration;

4) involve the different key actors on integration of TCN into labour market in formal and informal level to enable their participation;

5) build capacities and transfer the outcomes on European level by giving access to outputs and materials in several European languages on an open source- online basis.

The BEST project offers an opportunity to intensify and deepen the existing relationships between TCN, public authorities and NGOs while at the same time European integration policies are put into practise and the economic potential of TCN is being leveraged on a long-term.