Under the Integration Act (section 14) the assessments of skills and the need for integration services aim for more effective early-stage integration and referral of immigrants to services supporting integration and employment. The assessment of skills and the need for integration services consists of an initial interview and, when necessary, further measures such as evaluations by experts.
Matters addressed in assessments of skills and the need for integration services include:
- competencies;
- employment skills, study skills and other integration skills;
- need for training and education and other services promoting integration.
The assessment includes determining the immigrant’s goals and wishes, previous education, work history, language skills and ability to work and function insofar as it influences their preparedness for employment and integration, as well as any other factors that have a significant effect on employment and integration.
Assessments of skills and the need for integration services are conducted by the employment authorities in respect of immigrants who are unemployed jobseekers. The assessment is conducted by the municipality in respect of immigrants outside the labour force, such as persons receiving social assistance on a non-temporary basis, persons receiving child home care allowance, unaccompanied minor immigrants, victims of human trafficking and other persons in need of assessment. At the request of the municipality or the employment authority, the wellbeing services county takes part in the assessment of skills and the need for integration services when the immigrant’s need for services requires coordination of the services which the municipality and the wellbeing services county are responsible for organising. When the assessment is conducted in multi-sectoral cooperation between the municipality and employment authority or wellbeing services county, it may include a preliminary examination of the immigrant’s need for healthcare, social welfare and educational services as well.
As part of the assessment of skills and the need for integration services, the municipality or employment authority determines whether an integration plan should be prepared for the immigrant. In bilingual areas, the choice of the immigrant’s integration language must also be considered.
The municipality or the employment authority prepares an integration plan for the immigrant on the basis of the assessment. Based on the assessment, the immigrant may also be referred to the services of other authorities, services promoting integration and employment, or third-sector activities.
A smooth start to integration is to everyone’s benefit
Both the immigrant and the receiving society benefit from an effective initial stage of integration. Research indicates that the motivation to learn the language and for other studies, for example, is at its highest in the early stages of immigration. The desire to secure employment and quickly find a place in society is also strong at this time. Protracted waiting periods and wrongly targeted measures bring about passivism.
The aim of the assessment of skills and the need for integration services is to make the initial stages of integration more effective. Alongside basic information and the required guidance and advice, the assessment is an effective tool for initiating a smooth integration process. When an authority assesses an immigrant’s skills and their need for integration services without delay and refers them to the relevant services in a timely manner, this may reduce the need for specific integration services.
Faster integration and transition to working life delivers savings on unemployment benefit and social assistance expenditure as well as the costs of healthcare and social welfare services. Attachment to a new local community and to society supports a sense of belonging and may help prevent social exclusion.
Assessment of need for services provides foundation for further measures
The assessment of skills and the need for integration services along with the associated testing of starting level of language skills provide a good foundation for preparing the integration plan and seeking integration training. When the need for services is assessed comprehensively enough, the immigrant may be referred to a suitable teaching group or other services. The assessment of the need for services underpins guidance prior to education and training and the preparation of the individualised education plan when enrolled in education and training.
Read more:
Government Decree on the Assessment of Skills and Integration Service Needs (in Finnish)
