about:

“bASic Stem compETences for migrantS” (ASSETS), was a 24-months Strategic Partnership in the Field of Adult Education, aiming at promoting and developing relevant and high-quality skills and competences related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) for migrants, who pursue to promote their career in relevant job positions, either as employees or self-employed. Moreover, ASSETS promotes social inclusion of migrants in EU countries by empowering them to enter the job market through newly acquired competencies.

ASSETS target group involved in the project were composed by: direct target group: Adult educators, trainers, social workers working with migrants; indirect target group: migrants (aged 21+) who are facing difficulties in terms of access to jobs. For the purpose of this project was to develop innovative ups-killing paths in STEM for both target groups involved, using an interdisciplinary approach. ASSETS achieved the above-mentioned fundamental objectives through n. 4 transnational meetings, n. 3 intellectual outputs, n. 1 training activity and n. 6 multiplier events. Therefore, all the efforts of the partners involved were based on the following data and assumptions: “Importance of overcoming language barriers and facilitating the recognition of qualifications as a major shared challenge for the socio-economic inclusion of EU migrant workers and their access to the labour market (OECD, 2019)”; “STEM skills are increasingly in demand by employers in a wide range of sectors. These skills help promote systemic and critical thinking in different sectors and are not limited to just four subjects. Due to the increasing digitization of society and the world of work, the demand for STEM skills will only increase (BusinessEurope,2019)”;

In addition to these points, the latest PISA test available at the OECD (2018) shows that all countries involved in the partnership, except Germany which can be a leader in best practice, scored below average. This demonstrates the need to renew and innovate current methodologies for STEM skills and knowledge development.

In 24 months of the cooperation, ASSETS delivered the following results and outputs:
  • The state of Art for migrants’ access to the labor market faced by adults’ migrants (IO1). A training Format “Migrants and STEM” was developed and piloted during the Short-term joint staff training events. The Joint Staff mobility involved adult educators, trainers, social workers who are working with migrants. The development of format training course (IO1) devised in three specifics modules called ASSETS motivational content, ASSETS mapping of STEM related careers and ASSETS content knowledge.

  • Implementation of local workshops of STEM competences in which migrants participated. During the workshops, e-training material was realized as well as Platform “Enhancing migrants through STEM competence” (IO2) which is an interactive online platform that contains specific modules focus on the effectiveness of ASSETS learning methodology on migrants and social workers.