New Skills for New Entrepreneurs – Attraction and Qualification of Refugees as Successors (New Entrepreneurs)
The integration of as many as possible refugees is an urgent, outstanding and challenging task in many EU countries that requires the commitment of all social stakeholders. Refugees who have good basis of skills and good entrepreneurial potential are trained to entrepreneurs in a comparatively short period of time in the host country. In this way, they can be integrated into working life as successors or professionals for small and medium sized enterprises contributing considerably to the economic development. The project pursues this innovative and promising approach.
What does the project do?
- Rapid integration of refugees into work life by training and promoting entrepreneurship
- Recruitment of additional and new target groups, i.e. refugees and immigrants, to increase the number of potential SME successors and founders
- Improve entrepreneurial skills to attract qualified entrepreneurs, to ensure innovative success, and to secure and increase the number of SMEs and jobs
Why do we need this project?
- Large number of refugees in European countries that need to be integrated into the work force
- Long and bureaucratic procedures to get qualifications recognized
- Often official qualifications and competences that have been acquired in a non-traditional way are not recognized -> this leads to high dropout rates in required trainings due to long duration, underwhelmed participants & unstimulating environment
- Many SME founders are in the age of retirement, but planning for a takeover is often neglected
- There is an increasing shortage of qualified successors
- More jobs are lost annually due to failed business transfers than new ones are created by business start-ups