Jugendcollege: training and education for young migrants in Vienna

- © VHS Wien (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
- © VHS Wien (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
Jugendcollege: training and education for young migrants in Vienna, Austria - © schedl jugendcollege (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
- © schedl jugendcollege (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
- © VHS Wien (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
- © VHS Wien (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
Jugendcollege: training and education for young migrants in Vienna, Austria - © schedl jugendcollege (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
- © schedl jugendcollege (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
- © VHS Wien (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
- © VHS Wien (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
Jugendcollege: training and education for young migrants in Vienna, Austria - © schedl jugendcollege (courtesy of UCLG Learning)
- © schedl jugendcollege (courtesy of UCLG Learning)

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Jugendcollege: training and education for young migrants in Vienna

Status

ongoing

City

Vienna

Main actors

City Government, Community / Citizen Group, other

Project area

Whole City/Administrative Region

Duration

Ongoing since 2016

Jugendcollege provides free education, training and a mentoring programme for young migrants, asylum seekers and persons entitled to an asylum or subsidiary protection allowance aged between 15 and 21 in Vienna.

As part of Vienna’s “Start Wien” integration initiative, Jugendcollege helps young migrants lead an independent life by preparing them for further education, vocational training or the workplace. This is achieved through a series of modules in the German language, cultural orientation and personal career development, alongside other social integration activities such as excursions.

With the view that education is crucial to social participation, Jugendcollege supports young migrants in accessing their rights to education and employment and contributes to social cohesion through the reinforcement of common values surrounding gender roles, leisure time, customs and traditions, and mutual learning of the other. The programme operates from two locations in the city and has a total capacity of up to 1000 places.

This case study was developed in the framework of the Mediterranean City-to-City Migration Project (MC2CM), a project coordinated by ICMPD and funded by the European Union and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The MC2CM project has been working since 2015 with Amman, Beirut, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Tangiers, Tunis, Turin and Vienna to increase the knowledge base on urban migration. Additionally the project has sought to nurture a peer-to-peer dialogue and mutual learning on specific urban challenges such as social cohesion, intercultural dialogue, employment and provision of basic services for migrants, among others. This case study was selected by the Municipality of Madrid in order to showcase a practice that contributes to social inclusion of migrants at the local level.

This case study was contributed from the UCLG Learning Team (learning@uclg.org).

For further information about the case study, click here.

Sustainable Development Goals

City

Vienna, Austria

Size and population development

According to Province of Vienna 2020 statistics the Population of Vienna was recorded at 1,911,191. Since 2010 this represents the average annual growth at 1.1% The city covers an area: 414.9 km2 of which 50% are green spaces and bodies of water. The population density is 4,607 people per km2.

Population composition

The population of the city is comprised of 51.2% females and 48.8% males. The life expectancy for females is 83.4 years and males 78.6 years. The 0-14 age group is recorded at 14.6%, 15-64 at 68.9% and 65+ at 16.5%. The median age of all people is 41 years. Vienne is home to people from 184 different nationalities. Population by nationality Is comprised of Austria 69.2%, EU 13.4%, Other 17.4%. Top 5 nationalities are Serbia 4.1%, Germany 2.6%, Turkey 2.4%, Poland 2.3%, and Romania 1.9% Vienna is the second-largest German-speaking city after Berlin. The most practiced religions are Catholic 34%, unaffiliated 30%, Muslim 15%, Orthodox 10%, Protestant 4% and 6% other religions.

Main functions

The city of Vienna is located in north-eastern Austria and is the cultural, economic and political centre of the country. Vienna is host to many major international organisations, including the United Nations, OPEC and the OSCE. In 2001, the city center was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger.

Main industries / business

Vienna is characterised by a strong economy that draws its strengths from high productivity and a highly qualified workforce in combination with low wage costs per unit of output. The city is home to over 200 multinational corporation headquarters. The most important business sectors are trade, scientific and technological services, real estate and housing activities as well as manufacturing of goods.

Sources for city budget

Political structure

Vienna is one of Austria's federal provinces, as well as the federal capital city and the largest municipality of the Republic of Austria.

Administrative structure

The 100 members of the Vienne City Council are at the same time members of the Vienna Provincial Parliament. The members of the City Council are elected by the people for a legislative period of 5 years, as provided for in the Regulations on Municipal Elections in Vienna. Elections are held based on universal, equal, secret and direct proportional representation. The City Council's function is to safeguard the interests of all members of the municipality. Its tasks include general supervision of the municipality, electing the mayor, the deputy mayors and the city councillors. The City Council adopts the municipal budget plan (i.e., the annual budget), approves staffing plans, and adopts the final balance. The Mayor is elected by the City Council, with a term of office equivalent to the City Council’s legislative period. The Mayor remains in office until a successor has been elected. The Mayor need not be a member of the City Council but must be eligible for it.

Website

http://www.wien.gv.at/english/

Vienna is the capital city and cultural, economic and political centre of Austria with a population of over 1.8 million. It is the location of many international organisations including the United Nations (UN). Vienna has a long history of migration, especially from neighbouring eastern European countries since the 1950s. The city has seen many waves of migration, including an influx of Hungarian refugees in 1956 and the arrival of migrants from Germany and ‘new’ Eastern European countries in the early 1990s. Since 2013/14, there has been a growing number of refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and Syria. In 2015, 65% of the 118,517 net-migrants came from outside the European Union (EU) with 2/3 of this number coming from these Middle Eastern countries. Migration numbers have since declined, with net migration recorded at approximately 64,600 in 2017.

The government of Austria is a signatory to a number of international laws relating to migrants, including the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Migration is generally regulated at the national level, however as a federal state, Austria’s provincial governments have their own regulatory rights and access to resources through shares in tax revenues, making them important stakeholders in the field of integration. The city of Vienna forms one of Austria’s nine federal provinces and this has allowed the city to develop and implement its own integration initiatives through the Executive City Councillor for Integration and the Department for Integration and Diversity (MA 17). These departments also fund integration projects implemented by NGOs and local associations.

Following a growing intake of refugees, the initial concept of Jugendcollege was first developed with the Department for Integration and Diversity (MA 17) and various important educational institutions. Following this, the programme’s funding agencies (MA 17, AMS Wien and Social Funds Vienna (FSW)) came together to develop a call for further funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) which was managed and settled by the Vienna Employment Promotion Fund (WAFF). After the call was accepted, applications for the programme were received and a jury consisting of representatives from the funding agencies decided on the winning concept. The concept was approved by sponsors and the project commenced in August 2016.

The overall objective of the programme is to give recently-arrived young migrants the best possible opportunity to join the Austrian education and training system. The programme considers the particular needs of young migrants as individuals; education is viewed as the key to social participation as it allows migrants to advance their careers and contribute to a functioning society through work. This means that migrants who have not completed the asylum process can participate, in line with the initiative’s motto “integration from day one”.

There are two main ways of applying for the Jugendcollege programme. Young migrants can apply through their mentors at the Public Employment Service (AMS Wien) or through an education platform (Bildungsdrehscheibe). All applicants must complete “clearing”, a 1-2 day assessment in which their proficiencies in German and other subjects are tested and an interview with a social-worker is conducted. The most important criteria for acceptance is the motivation of the individual. The majority of the programme’s participants are asylum-seekers and refugees from Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia.

Jugendcollege is a modular programme which can be tailored according to every participants existing knowledge, experiences and career goals. Through a total of 20 ½ hours of training and weekly ½ hour mentoring sessions, migrants are taught a series of compulsory and optional modules and receive personal development and career advice. The structure of the programme is very flexible, allowing participants to complete the programme in their own time and around other responsibilities. The maximum stay at the Jugendcolledge is 9 months, although this can be extended under special circumstances.

Core modules in maths, English, ICT and German provide participants with the basic skills required in the Austrian education system and enable them to leave with a compulsory school leaving certificate. Proficiency in the German language is especially important as it facilitates their integration with the host society. Optional modules are selected with the help of a mentor depending on the individual’s professional ambitions and include various training workshops.

Critical participation is a compulsory module that teaches matters relating to political and social coexistence in Austria such as family life, gender roles, racism and discrimination. Participants can also attend further social integration activities such as excursions and are supported if they choose to develop and run their own courses in different subjects (language courses, cooking classes, sports, art, etc.) which are accessible to the public at the open school. The school acts as a meeting place, facilitating interaction between migrants and the host population, encouraging mutual recognition of otherness as an asset.

Upon completion of Jugendcollege, particpants can attend trial days in local schools or businesses and make contact with potential mentors or employers, before continuing with further education, vocational training or workplace employment. After their next phase of development, they have the option of attending a follow-up session at Juegendcollege in order to discuss their progress.

The programme’s members have the required training to support young migrants. They are trained in how to deal with people who may have experienced trauma; conflict-management and general pedagogical issues. Special support is given to staff who do not have German as a first language. The mentors act as career advisors, social workers and cultural advisers.