Integration of immigrant and minority groups
Good practice case study
ISI Project, Germany
The project ISI, ‘self-employment for female immigrants’, aims to help immigrant women to become economically independent in order to enable them to move out of family dependence and state support. The project offers a one-year training course which consists of: business studies (in particular entrepreneurship), development of a business plan, accounting, IT, business German, strengthening social and intercultural competencies, training with female experts, visiting companies, two-month internship, careers advice and advice on self-employment. The participants are also supported in developing their abilities and competencies which has led to new ideas about career paths.
Key lessons
- This project shows the transferability of local employment development models from one city to another, from one country to another.
- Offering women from migrant communities training in entrepreneurship can be extremely successful. Training women together allows the development of a shared approach to obstacles and problems, and provides a situation of trust and solidarity which can be important in building confidence.
- Developing strong and sustainable relationships with local businesses can lead to ongoing work experience placements which provide valuable on-the-job training.
Case study
ISI Project [pdf, en, 14kb]
