Eurostat estimates that the EU-28 population aged 25-54 shows that in 2017 just over one third (35.4 %) of non-EU-born migrants had successfully completed at most a lower secondary level of education. These results show a clear need for education, lifelong learning and upskilling for adult migrants (Eurostat, 2018). As explained by Eurostat (2015), the working age of the migrant population (15 to 64 years) is 78% of the total and migrants in the EU are mostly in the 18 to 35 age range The percentage of unemployed rate in the different countries of those born outside EU is: Italy 12,7%, France 14,6%, Spain 20,7%, Germany 13,4 UK, the lowest one, 5,2%. Yet the global COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected vulnerable communities, including third-country nationals across the EU. The employment rate among migrants has dropped since the virus outbreak. In Spain, for example, unemployment in the migrant population had risen to almost 25% by early September 2020. The disproportionately high incidence on immigrants is also notable in Sweden, where 58% of recently unemployed since August 2019 are immigrants. In Austria, Norway and Germany, more than a third of the newly unemployed are migrants or foreign nationals.
As one of the tools to combat unemployment and social inclusion, entrepreneurship is high on the EU political agenda. It is also a key competence in the European Reference Framework on Key Competencies for Lifelong Learning (2006) updated in 2018 https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018SC0014&from=EN. Within this framework, the entrepreneurship 2020 action plan is a blueprint for decisive joint action to unleash Europe’s entrepreneurial potential, to remove existing obstacles and to revolutionize the culture of entrepreneurship in Europe as pointed out in the document “the missing entrepreneurs 2017 – policies for inclusive entrepreneurship” published by the OECD in 2017. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/the-missing-entrepreneurs- 2017_9789264283602-en.
In this context, the GREEN ANGELS project builds capacities for self-entrepreneurship and promotes social inclusion of migrants in EU countries by empowering them to enter the job market through newly acquired or updated competencies and skills. More precisely, the project supports the re-skilling or up-skilling of migrants’ basic, transversal, green and entrepreneurial competencies through a new upskilling pathway to build their capacities as Social entrepreneurs while fulfilling a double objective: to promote the employability of migrants, and to meet the needs of their local communities.
Additionally, the transversal area of the project will promote knowledge and competences for an environmental-friendly approach to small scale business activities, in line with the needs and requirements of the European Green Deal Communication https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en. There will be a transversal module focused only on the sustainable, green and sustainable materials and products that may be used in the delivering of the service, as well as indications on the differentiated waste as well as recycling.
