Introductory Lecture in Workshop 2 of the conference on Roma in Education and the Economy Bratislava, 120-21 October 2006.

Vocational Training Programmes and Labour Market Activities:

A challenge for Roma and society at large

The case for raising the educational attainment level of

Roma

Globalisation, technical change, credentialism, the increasing role of social capital and networking – all are contributary factors for the deterioration of the socio-economic situation of the Roma in Europe.

Unskilled labourers and persons with limited social networks into the mainstream society are amongst the losers of this post-industrial socio-economic development

One way to improve the socio-economic opportunities of Roma is through raising their educational attainment level and to include them as a target group in further education and active labour market policies

The need for concerted action

In order to be effective, endeavours to raise the educational attainment level of the Roma have to envisage a concerted action of socio-economic institutions, civic society and the institutionalised will of the Roma themselves on local, national and supranational level.

This is necessary in order to build trust and commitment on the part of the actors involved

Complex institutionalised commitment needed to raise

education and training levels

In order to move the agenda of further education and training forward, guiding lines and principles of supranational institutions like the EU are setting the scene for efforts to promote and target the socio-economic integration of Roma as a special group amongst marginalised groups in our societies.

The equal opportunities and antidiscrimination agenda of the EU is an important instrument, but the implementation and application to the group of Roma takes place in the various nation states and communities.

This calls for a process of awareness building and cooperative effort on the part of the society at large and the Roma themselves in order to obtain the consensus and support necessary of all parties concerned.

Complexity of Roma societies: A challenge for selforganisation in

Austria The situation of Roma who are currently living in

Austria is far from homogenous. Distinction between Roma as an autochthonous

Austrian ethnic minority, who are survivors and descendants of the victims of the Holocaust (Burgenland) and

those who have settled in Austria in more recent times, either as foreign workers or refugees in the various waves of immigration to Austria since 1956 (urban areas of Vienna, Salzburg and Linz).

Their regional concentrations of settlement differ just as well as their ethnic and cultural background (Lovara from Hungary, Kalderas and Gurbet from Serbia, Arlije from Macedonia and later inflows from CEECs, mainly from Romania) which does not foster social organisation on a wider Roma scale.

In addition, the official recognition of Roma as an ethnic minority (Volksgruppengesetz 1976) in 1993 tends to exclude the newcomers from getting that status, as the latter is dependent upon a certain period of residence, in general three generations. Thus contributing to the difficulty of selforganisation as a lobby group.

Deterioration of the economic situation of the Roma in Austria

since the 1990s

The low educational attainment level is at least partly responsible for the deterioration of the employment situation of Roma .

Particularly older generations have a low educational attainment level

Over the last 15 years appreciable changes have taken place, however. For younger Roma the completion of compulsory education has become almost self-evident, upper secondary education is not unusual and university degrees have come within reach.

This represents a clear improvement with respect to the past. However, in light of the decline in demand for low-skilled labour and the need of higher qualifications to succeed on the labour market, this progress might prove to be too little, too late .

Improved educational attainment level in the last 15

years

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

1945-75* 1975-84 1985-1994

Proportion of school drop-outs and special needs scholars has dropped

Compulsory school finishing certificate has become the norm

For the first time do Roma enter higher educational attainment levels

The success would not have been possible without the active promotion of learning of the Roma-community (association)

Proportion of special needs schoolers in the Roma population by birth cohort

*Schätzung

Q: Samer (2001), WIFO Berechnungen

Initial education and further education: the case of Roma in

Burgenland

Highest educational attainment in %

51%

24%8% 2%6%

9%

Drop-outs + Sonderschüler

Pflichtschule

Lehre

BMS

Matura

FH

Q: Roma Befragung, WIFO Berechnungen

13,6% have raised their initial educational attainment level through further education and training. Raising educational attainment is the key for upward social mobility: 2/3 of successful movers have a job!

6%

3%

3%

1,6%

Strong vocational orientation of the Austrian education system

favours upskilling of Roma Austria has a complex education system with a strong occupational/professional orientation

General education streams are rare and prepare to a large extent for university education. They tend not to be frequented by Roma.

The strong labour market orientation of education and training goes hand in hand with a diverse landscape of specialised professional associations which often issue the necessary license to work

Accreditation of competences and skills is therefore decentralised and requires bridging institutions to help find the proper and most efficient ways to satisfy specific needs

Network of institutions to connect the Roma and their skills with

facilitators to promote employment

The focus of the network is on

1: identifying the skills and needs for upgrading in order to suit the individual as well as the local community and economy,

2. to develop an education and training programme which upgrades skills to a trade level or adds on skills horizontally, in order to widen employment opportunities,

3.to help get into a job –recruitment centre/cluster of firms who tend to take graduates from the further education centre/college.

Advantage of this approach:

centred on the individual, his/her capabilities and skills while at the same time checking the local labour

market needs and thus employment opportunities. The integration of special teachers/mentors who are

accompanying the learning process. All the above are important complements. The general feeling is that a combination of learning and

working on the job is a faster means of acquiring skills than formal schooling.

Development of a mainstream approach to better initial

education and further education and training Cooperation of the Ministry of education

(ethnic affairs department) with the education department in the provinces

as well as institutions of adult education and training and the labour market service

Active integration of civil society of the majority population as well as Roma associations and social partners.

Development of guiding lines/principles of further education, whereby the integration of Roma constitutes an integral part of socio-economic development plans of the region.

The integration of Roma into EU-wide networks promotes the expertise and professionalism of local actors; it is also helpful in accessing EU funding.

Conclusion

Active participation of the Roma community is needed to promote further education.

This implies that there has to be an active partner on the side of the Roma to pursue a dialogue with the local, national and even international level to raise the awareness level and also initiate a dialogue.

This implies that the Roma themselves have to get organised in order to speak on behalf of the Roma as a group.

The heterogeneity of interests within the Roma is no stumbling block for organisation if the focus of organisation is on education alone

The civic society and NGOs play an important role as facilitators in particular when the focus is on education and training as well as labour market policy.

Conclusion

There have to be initiatives within majority society that focus on the role of the Roma.

This is an essential component of higher acceptance and a higher level of political commitment on the side of the institutions.

Not any NGO is able to cooperate successfully with the political institutions of the majority society and the Roma. In order to be effective, the NGO has to rely on political and social consensus, or be able to build it. The organisation has to be on equal terms with policy-makers, and be recognized as legitimate voice of the people. There seem to be two viable options:

the organisation is well-established, strong and rooted in the area of activity. It is perceived as catering to the interests of the whole community, and not just to those of the marginalised group it is targeting;

smaller, less well-established organisations and single activists create networks, they work together and build a strong identity. In this way they are able to act at different levels, and to lobby effectively.