Testimonies

Three types of testimonies are presented: stories of refugees, integration paths seen from the professionals' point of view and initiatives told by the people who implement them. They show that a successful professional integration requires the joint involvement of several actors. They can be accessed either directly or by keywords.

 

 

Follow-up of a migrant

Maria from Venezuela

Venezuelan woman, she asked for asylum in Spain 10 months ago. In Venezuela she worked offering banking services. She didn’t make her diploma equivalent: most immigrants don’t do it because they think it is useless or they can’t afford the costs.

At the beginning of the intervention, there was an important obstacle: her legal papers were lost and she was undocumented. In this situation, professionals decided to search for job opportunities in the informal field, because the payment of a room was urgent. With the help of the career counsellor, she published an advertisement of domestic service and worked as such while she was waiting for her legal papers.

When she got them, she searched for other opportunities and she started to work in a telemarketing company, where she continues nowadays.

It is a person with great motivation, abilities for job search and digital competences. Professionals implemented an intervention from the basis, related to general citizenship procedures: house searching, how the Spanish labour market works, social security procedures. The orientation took place in individual sessions, because she couldn’t come to the group sessions due to her work hours.

We can see that the professionals adapted to the personal situation of the newcomer, helping her to deal with critical economic situation at the beginning and with developing of a new career when her legal situation became stable. Also, they focused on basic learnings about procedures of Spanish labour and social system.

Personal history
Individual support