HELIOS - Hellenic Integration Support for Beneficiaries of International and Temporary Protection
About this good practice
The objective of the project is two-fold, firstly, to increase the prospects of beneficiaries towards self-reliance and support them in becoming active members of the Greek society, and, secondly, to support the Greek authorities in establishing a sustainable integration mechanism for beneficiaries of international protection and temporary protection in Greece, as part of the overall Migration Management System in the country
through the following components:
•Integration Courses:Conduction of Integration Courses within Integration Learning Centres set-up across Greece.
•Accommodation support:Supporting beneficiaries towards independent accommodation in apartments rented on their name, including contributions to rental and move-in costs and networking with apartment owners.
•Employability support:Provision of individual employability and job readiness support, including job counseling, access to job-related certifications and networking.
•Integration monitoring:Regular assessment of the integration progress of the beneficiaries to ensure that they will be in a position to navigate through Greek public service providers once they will exit from the HELIOS project and start living independently in Greece.
•Sensitization of the host community:Organization of workshops, activities and production of a nationwide media campaign to create exchange occasions between the hosting and the hosted communities, highlighting the value of the integration of migrants into the Greek society.
Resources needed
In almost 5 years of its existence, while serving over 40.000 beneficiaries, the project was funded by DGHome with the amount of EUR 75M and by the Greek national budget with the amount of EUR 62M. The total number of staff (IOM and Implementing partners) was changing from 250 – 400 staff members.
Evidence of success
45.254 beneficiaries enrolled in the HELIOS project from 2019 until January 2024.
Out of them,7.499(aged 16 years and older)received employability support, with the aim to enhance their educational and professional profiles, linking them to job and upskilling opportunities.390 collaborations were established with employers in various sectors throughout Greece and 46 Employability Events and Conferences were implemented with 5.000 attendees in total in multiple sectors of the Greek economy.
Potential for learning or transfer
HELIOS constitutes the only nationwide integration project in Greece,helping create a prosperous society,in alignment with the EU and national integration policies.It's been implemented in a pilot-to-full-scale approach.The factors that enabled its scalability were managed through piloting initiatives on a larger scale,considering the local realities of the areas of implementation,as well as the needs of assisted population.Regarding employability,a full-scale Employability Mechanism has been developed.Includes a Profiling and Job Counselling System,a Job Searching,Private Sector Networking Mechanism and an Internal Platform.Practices and methodology incorporated in both the mechanism and internal platform can be applied and transferred to other contexts as well.Lessons learned from the implementation of the HELIOS can serve as a blueprint for similar initiatives in other European countries,highlighting the efficacy of a multifaceted approach in tackling complex social challenges
Further information
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