2006:35 R
Immigrant Academy and Probationer programmes - experiences of supplementary programmes for immigrant graduates
The Government has asked the National Agency for Higher Education to evaluate the supplementary programmes aimed at immigrant graduates. These have been offered since 2002 in two phases at three higher education institutions - Linköping University, and the University Colleges of Malmö and Borås. A total of 500 individuals have taken the programmes offered, mainly in the form of probationer programmes for which a special ordinance - The Ordinance on Specific Theoretical and Practical Programmes at Higher Education Institutions (SFS 1995:889) - has been issued.
The University College of Malmö offers an integrated supplementary programme in the field of International Migration and Ethnicity (IMER). The basis of the model developed for the probationer programme comprises, in addition to language training, intensive career guidance and advanced practical training. In their individualised plans the students´ previous studies are taken into account but not even here is the possibility of accreditation used to the full. One interesting aspect of IMER´s policy is that the practical training offered consists of work in realistic circumstances. Cohesion, coordination and goal-orientation are the characteristic features of IMER´s concept and the University College of Malmö is successful in establishing its probationer students in the labour market.
Linköping University offers probationer programmes with three different specialisations: for physicians, for teachers and for other academic professions. As two of these specialisations (teaching and medicine) have clearly defined employers it has been easy to organise placements through contacts that had already been established. This has also served to guarantee success in terms of the objectives laid down: a relatively large number of Linköping´s probationers have found work after completing the programmes. The individual plans for these students take their previous experience into account, but, as at the other institutions evaluated, accreditation and the validation resources available have not been used to the full. The three different specialisations are treated as a coherent whole but there are relatively few points of contact between them.
The programme offered by the immigrant academy at Borås can be compared to an introduction year for academic study. The focus is on language training and on transferring students to the courses or programmes that form part of the University College´s regular offering. The skills that students bring with them are not exploited to the extent that could be desired. No systematic use is made of accreditation and validation and there are obvious problems in finding places for practical training or placement periods. Even though it has to be pointed out that only to a limited extent does the immigrant academy at Borås attains the objectives of supplementary programmes for immigrant graduates in the form of probationer programmes, the experiences gained there are significant and its development programme appropriate, well considered and worth supporting. The organisational system that has been developed to coordinate all of the measures undertaken at the institution to broaden recruitment merits attention.
In its report the panel of assessors discuss the organisation, experiences and results of probationer programmes. The conclusion that the panel comes to is that it is important for resources to continue to be provided to enable the expertise developed at the higher education institutions through their probationer programmes to be consolidated and intensified.
The report concludes with a number of recommendations that are intended to facilitate continued work with supplementary programmes for immigrant graduates and their establishment in the Swedish labour market:
The evaluation was carried out by a panel consisting of four external experts and a member of the staff of the National Agency.
Important experiences have been gained in the development of these supplementary programmes. The evaluation shows that the institutions have developed methods and approaches that are effective in integrating immigrant graduates into the Swedish labour market. The appraisal found that the institutions evaluated differ in several areas in their methods of enhancing the skills of the immigrant graduates.
Probationer programmes at the University College of Malmö
The University College of Malmö offers an integrated supplementary programme in the field of International Migration and Ethnicity (IMER). The basis of the model developed for the probationer programme comprises, in addition to language training, intensive career guidance and advanced practical training. In their individualised plans the students´ previous studies are taken into account but not even here is the possibility of accreditation used to the full. One interesting aspect of IMER´s policy is that the practical training offered consists of work in realistic circumstances. Cohesion, coordination and goal-orientation are the characteristic features of IMER´s concept and the University College of Malmö is successful in establishing its probationer students in the labour market.
Probationer programmes at Linköping University
Linköping University offers probationer programmes with three different specialisations: for physicians, for teachers and for other academic professions. As two of these specialisations (teaching and medicine) have clearly defined employers it has been easy to organise placements through contacts that had already been established. This has also served to guarantee success in terms of the objectives laid down: a relatively large number of Linköping´s probationers have found work after completing the programmes. The individual plans for these students take their previous experience into account, but, as at the other institutions evaluated, accreditation and the validation resources available have not been used to the full. The three different specialisations are treated as a coherent whole but there are relatively few points of contact between them.
Immigrant academy at Borås
The programme offered by the immigrant academy at Borås can be compared to an introduction year for academic study. The focus is on language training and on transferring students to the courses or programmes that form part of the University College´s regular offering. The skills that students bring with them are not exploited to the extent that could be desired. No systematic use is made of accreditation and validation and there are obvious problems in finding places for practical training or placement periods. Even though it has to be pointed out that only to a limited extent does the immigrant academy at Borås attains the objectives of supplementary programmes for immigrant graduates in the form of probationer programmes, the experiences gained there are significant and its development programme appropriate, well considered and worth supporting. The organisational system that has been developed to coordinate all of the measures undertaken at the institution to broaden recruitment merits attention.
For its further development it is important for the immigrant academy to be informed of and learn from the experiences that have been gained at other higher education institutions.
Conclusions
In its report the panel of assessors discuss the organisation, experiences and results of probationer programmes. The conclusion that the panel comes to is that it is important for resources to continue to be provided to enable the expertise developed at the higher education institutions through their probationer programmes to be consolidated and intensified.
The panel of assessors consider that it has been shown without doubt that higher education and the higher education institutions offer the best routes into the Swedish labour market for immigrant graduates.
Recommendations
The report concludes with a number of recommendations that are intended to facilitate continued work with supplementary programmes for immigrant graduates and their establishment in the Swedish labour market:
- Measures for immigrant graduates are most effective at the higher education institutions. The process of integrating immigrant graduates should therefore be concentrated to them.
- Make supplementary programmes for immigrant graduates part of the regular offering in higher education.
- Safeguard and develop the expertise that has been gained from the work with immigrant graduates.
- Combine and simplify the regulations that affect measures to broaden recruitment.
- Change the regulations on student funding so that immigrant graduates can be offered realistic conditions to take supplementary programmes.
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Swedish National Agency for Higher Education Visting address: Luntmakargatan 13 Box 7851, 103 99 Stockholm
Phone: 08-563 085 00 Fax: 08-563 085 50 Email: hsv@hsv.se
Phone: 08-563 085 00 Fax: 08-563 085 50 Email: hsv@hsv.se
