European Trade Union Committee for Education

Recently, ETUCE attended the 4th European Migration Forum, this year focuses on more inclusive labour market for migrants.

Commissioner Avramopoulos of DG Migration mentioned that “the integration in the labour market is more crucial than ever at a moment when the migration situation at our external borders has started to stabilize. For those who have obtained a legal right to stay in the European Union it is essential, and even urgent, that we now focus on their integration into our societies” He continued emphasing the role of social partners “Apart from the recent EU initiative with the employers....I have signed, together with my colleague Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, a European Partnership for Integration with the European social and economic partners to encourage a truly multi-stakeholder approach in this area. Public authorities at national, regional and local level, social and economic partners and of course civil society organisations have to join forces to make integration happen, starting from the labour market”

The forum touched upon the need to strengthen cooperation amongst different stakeholders; how to improve skills matching; and how to promote regular employment and decent work as well as diversity in the labour market. He continued “Many migrants come to Europe with their talents, competences and skills – these should not be wasted. There is already much engagement at different levels in Europe, by social and economic partners, by civil society, by the public and private sectors... and we all should overcome challenges such as learning a new language or recognising qualifications”.

ETUCE European Director, Susan Flocken, said : 'The acknowledgement of the role of EU social partners is crucial. Concrete EU initiatives with education trade unions are still missing and are important to achieve full integration of migrants in schools, colleges and universities, which is a pre-requisite to further being integrated into the labour market. To ensure this, appropriate and sustainable public investment in teacher training on migrant education, including pedagogical support and language learning, is fundamental.'

ETUCE supports the above EU Partnership and is committed to the effective integration of migrants in education by carrying out a social dialogue project together with the European Federation of Employers in Education (EFEE).

For further information about the joint ETUCE-EFEE project, please visit.

ETUCE is also a partner in the ETUC project LABOUR-INT on the effective labour market integration of migrants.