MY TURN - Women with migration experience get started

Women with migration experiences are heavily underrepresented in the labor market and skill development programmes. The ESF Plus funding programme MY TURN" accompanies contribute to women with migration experience who have limited (formal) qualification and an increased need for support. By increasing participation in skill development programmes, participants will increase their ability to find lasting employment opportunities subject to social security, self-employment or vocational training. An increased need for support relates to women recently immigrated to Germany, cases where childcare restricts reasonable employment and programme participation (section 10 (1) SGB II), little or no language practice and/or basic digital skills.

MY TURN adopts an approach specifically tailored to women and their living circumstances to reach them, provides (or refers them to) advice, counseling services and continuous, trusting and individual support.

The goal of this method is bolstering women's motivation, prevention of dropping out, as well as provision of resources for longer term training and employment, even in events of learning setbacks and family resistance.

Eligible projects are those specifically geared towards women with migration experience. The following compulsory participant-related modules are implemented:

• Dovetailed digital and analogue targeting of participants and information provision, with the aim of attracting programme participants and offering support to access relevant benefits and regular support system services (in particular benefits and services under SGB II and SGB III) as well as guiding women to other relevant support structures (guide function)
• Empowerment activities, e.g. jointly identifying untapped potential, future prospects and suitable steps for skill development, help in dealing with conflicts of roles, peer-to-peer and mentoring programmes, teaching basic skills (especially digital skills), language practice, access to and participation in social infrastructures, arranging internships and job shadowing, and if necessary, target group-specific basic work-related education
• Counseling on reconciling family and work, including family involvement
• Networking with businesses, search for job shadowing and internship positions, as well as (part-time) jobs and training possibilities
• Individual support for the programmes duration, as well as trusting and continuous (uninterrupted) support in risks of dropping out, as well as with new employment and training

In addition, an elective module on childcare access is planned:

Access to locations that provide childcare are essential for successful participation in the programme, especially with skill development measures. Furthermore, childcare is of primary concern for mothers with migration experience, if they are to lastingly join the labor market. For this reason, the fundamental task for all project executing organizations is support in reconciling family and work. The elective module "childcare access" aims to channel support for mothers and ensure target-group-specific support in the search for and use of the regular childcare system.

An overarching networking center helps the involved organizations to connect, provide information about individual projects and promote projects to the outside world.