Workshop Schools in Navarra promote the integration of immigrants
According to a study carried out by the Institute for Culture and Society at the University of Navarre, these Workshop Schools aid the insertion of the immigrant population
Un grupo de investigación pA research group headed by María Ángeles Sotés at the Instituto Cultura y Sociedad de la Universidad de Navarra (Institute Culture and Society at the University of Navarre), has defined the profile of the immigrant student-worker attending the Workshop Schools of Navarra in order to identify the current situation of this type of work-training schemes and to potentially improve the training of immigrant workers in the region.
The research Project started in the first semester of 2012 with a questionnaire aimed at defining the sociological, academic and employment profile, and the expectations of the immigrant student-workers attending the Workshop Schools of Navarra. In total 110 responses were collected, representing 100% of the sample of young immigrants enrolled at the Workshop Schools.
The study carried out by the team of María Ángeles Sotés and Hildegart González was intended to corroborate the hypothesis that the work-training model of the Workshop Schools of Navarra is valid to help the young immigrant population's integration. It achieves a triple objective, because it trains them, improves their job prospects and as a result, they achieve better integration into society.
Results from the questionnaires shown that a majority of them have high expectations of finding a job though the training received, with 42.7% of the interviewees responding "yes, certainly" and 44.5% responding "I suppose so". Among the motivations to attend the Workshop Schools, the majority (88.1%) indicated "to learn a profession" was the principal motivation and 46.9% referred to "gaining experience and access to the working environment" as a second option. Another important detail was the importance that the majority of the interviewees gave to the trainers, both in terms of professional and personal aspects. Thus, 74.3% declared that what they most valued from their trainers was the professional training they had received from them and 25.7% valued the personal training they had received, making the Workshop Schools'trainers a reference for them.
From 2004 to 2012, 68.38% of the student-workers in the workshops were locals and 31.62% were immigrants. According to the provisional census data in Navarra on the 1st January 2013, "the immigrant population living in Navarre was 67,714, which represents 10.5% of the total of the population registered in the region". However, we must take into account that in recent years there have been an important number of immigrants adopting Spanish Nationality in Navarre, as the Office of Immigration has informed us. This fact is also reflected in the Workshop Schools.
Ilundáin Workshop
As María Ángeles Sotés explains, "when introduced in Spain in 1985, the Workshop Schools were not initially conceived to integrate immigrants, although because of the age range covered (16-25 year-olds) and the type of training it offers, for unemployed people, a significant number of immigrants enrol in this programme".
The second phase of the study was started recently, based on a Focus Group in which the directors of five of the Workshop Schools included in the study have taken part: Juan Ignacio Barberena, Sergio Gil, Javier Goñi, Mertxe Pérez de Prado and Eduardo Sanz. Among other issues, they pointed out that the Workshop Schools promote work habits in their students that prepare them for employment regardless the speciality they are training in.
At the same time, Fernando Echarri has studied the situation in the Ilundáin Workshop School, promoted by the Ilundáin foundation in the Aranguren Valley (Navarre), where they have traditionally worked with population at risk of social exclusion. Results from this study reveal that since the arrival of the immigrant student-workers (2004) they have noted positive synergism in student-worker interactions. "The motivated attitude of the immigrants has a positive effect in their non-immigrant colleagues on the Workshop Schools", explains Fernando Echarri, pointing out that "this means that those who struggle to work feel are better predisposed to do so, increasing their efficiency and perseverance".or dirigido por María Ángeles Sotés, investigadora del Instituto Cultura y Sociedad de la Universidad de Navarra, ha delimitado el perfil del alumnado-trabajador inmigrante de las Escuelas Taller de Navarra con el objetivo de identificar el estado actual de este tipo de formación para el empleo y abrir posibles líneas de mejora en la formación de las personas inmigrantes trabajadoras en la comunidad foral.