IOM and the Geneva-based Fondation d'Harcourt have signed an
agreement providing six-month training courses and internship
opportunities to vulnerable migrants living in Sicily.

The pilot project, which is funded by the Fondation d'Harcourt,
aims to enhance individual skills and the potential of the
vulnerable migrants to facilitate their integration into the local
community, and their inclusion in the local labour market.

According to the foundation's president, Fabio Montauti
d'Harcourt, the decision to set up the project follows a joint
assessment tour with IOM, carried out last year in the Sicilian
city of Palermo.

It found that the local social services were unable to meet all
the needs of vulnerable migrants, whose numbers have increased
dramatically since the Libyan crisis.

Under the project, which will begin in April and will be
implemented in close coordination with local social services and
NGOs, IOM, in partnership with Missione Speranza e Carita, will
identify 50 suitable candidates from a group of 100 vulnerable
migrants.

The fifty will be offered six-month training courses and
internship placements with private enterprises, cooperatives and
multinational corporations, to help them gain or improve their
skills.

During their training, the Foundation d'Harcourt will pay them
stipends, while the enterprises will provide them with insurance
cover for injury and illness.

"The migrants come from various backgrounds. They include
victims of human trafficking, unaccompanied minors, people living
with disabilities and people who are victims of exploitation. By
the end of the project, they will have acquired new skills that
will help them to find regular jobs," says IOM Italy Chief of
Mission Jose Angel Oropeza.

The project will start in April and will be implemented in
coordination with local social services and humanitarian
agencies.

For more information, please contact:

Flavio Di Giacomo

IOM Italy

Tel: +39 06 44 186 207

E-mail: "mailto:fdigiacomo@iom.int">fdigiacomo@iom.int