Migration and employment

The topic

Ensuring that migrants have access to employment is one of the biggest challenges in managing multicultural societies. Indeed, being in work is a key element of any integration process. Nevertheless, many statistics have shown that integrating migrants into the job market can be problematic.

In Switzerland, as elsewhere in Europe, foreign nationals are over-represented among the beneficiaries of the main social security programmes and demonstrate relatively low rates of employment. This is due to several factors, including a lack of vocational training, the non-recognition of foreign diplomas, the lack of a professional network and employer discrimination.

This seminar will begin by attempting to understand the reasons for the disadvantages that migrants experience in the job market. It will go on to cover the instruments that can be used to deal with this situation, notably measures to reintegrate migrants into the job market and recruitment practices. We will focus mainly on promising solutions developed in Switzerland and abroad, and we will analyse the obstacles to successful integration.

Finally, the course will also investigate the problems surrounding the integration of the most vulnerable immigrant populations, such as refugees and asylum seekers.

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Objectives

Understand the situation facing migrants in the job market
Become more knowledgeable about the principal aspects of employment law as it pertains to migrants
Learn about the principal obstacles to employment facing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers based on the latest scientific research
Identify the most promising measures for different groups of migrants (examples of best practices)

Target audience

Professionals with responsibilities in the field of migration (State Secretariat for Migration, cantonal and city integration bureaus)
Professionals with responsibilities in the field of employment (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, cantonal employment offices, regional job placement offices)
Persons responsible for the design and implementation of vocational reintegration measures within the frameworks of Switzerland’s Asylum Act, its social services and the invalidity insurance programme
Professionals from the not-for-profit sector working in the field of migrant integration

Speakers

Name	Function
Berthoud Frédéric	State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI)
Bonoli Giuliano	Professor of Social Policy, IDHEAP, University of Lausanne
Efionayi-Maeder Denise	Deputy Director, Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies, University of Neuchâtel
Friderich Matthieu	Head of Orientation and Employment, Etablissement vaudois d'accueil des migrants (EVAM)
Mallias Léonora	Head of AMA (Accompagnement des Migrants en Appartement), Etablissement vaudois d'accueil des migrants (EVAM)
Taddei Marco	Member of the Executive Committee, Head of French-speaking Switzerland, Union Patronale Suisse
Nguyen Minh Son	Professor of Law, Centre of Public Law, University of Lausanne

Topics discussed

The challenges of a multicultural society
The work situation for migrants in Switzerland’s job market
Legal issues (work permits and matters of asylum)
Obstacles to employment among migrants and asylum seekers
Job market discrimination
The most promising vocational (re)integration policies
Recognising foreign diplomas as a means of integration
The situation of refugees and asylum seekers and their integration into Switzerland’s job market

Teaching methods

This seminar combines theoretical insights from the latest scientific research with practical examples taken from real-world programmes promoting integration. The emphasis is on the structure of these programmes and an analysis of their effectiveness.

The seminar will be facilitated by several external specialists who will intervene on particularly important themes. The seminar also is intended to be a space for discussions between professional researchers. Specific time slots have been dedicated to these exchanges.

Qualifications and Certificates

Participants who actively and regularly attend the seminar will receive a certificate of continuous education. The seminar will close with an evaluation of the participant’s knowledge.

If this evaluation is positive, the seminar can be credited towards a multidisciplinary CAS in Administrative Practices. The CAS will be awarded after successful participation in three seminars for specialists and executives, including this one.

Practical information and Registration

Course manager

Prof. Flavia Fossati

Dates, time and place

The seminar will be held for four days in August and September 2025. Seminars will take place between roughly 9h15 and 16h15 at IDHEAP’s premises on the University of Lausanne campus.

The seminar management reserves the right to modify the programme depending on the number of participants registered.

Main teaching language

French

Registration costs

The total seminar registration fee comes to CHF 1,500 (including all documentation, coffee and meal breaks), which should be paid on receipt of the invoice, but no later than the course start date. A discount of 10% is available as of your participation in a second seminar offered by IDHEAP. In case of withdrawal after the registration deadline, an amount of CHF 400 will be charged.

A discount of 5%, up to a maximum of CHF 500 per course, is available to any IDHEAP alumni—holding an MPA, DAS or CEMAP, an IDHEAP PhD or an MA in PMP—who wish to follow a CAS course or a Seminar for Specialists and Executives organised by IDHEAP. This discount does not apply to participants in the DAS who subsequently wish to follow the MPA course.

Conditions of admission

This seminar is open to anyone holding a university degree, a degree from a university of applied sciences or with equivalent professional experience. Admission is by portfolio.

Registration

Registration will open in 2024.

The seminar management reserves the right to modify the programme depending on the number of participants.

Migration and employment | MIGE