Sustainable labour-market integration is a key element of successful inclusion for migrants and an important contributor to the European Union’s economic resilience. Vocational education and training (VET) plays a central role in this process, as highlighted in the EU Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021–2027, which emphasises that high-quality, work-based learning can facilitate migrants’ entry into the labour market and strengthen their long-term integration.

In this Inform, VET refers to programmes designed to equip beneficiaries of international protection and applicants for international protection with the practical skills, knowledge and competencies required by the labour market, including both initial and continuing training opportunities. Such programmes can contribute significantly to equal opportunities and social inclusion; however, access and participation remain uneven across EMN Member and Observer Countries due to persistent barriers. This Inform therefore sheds light on how countries address these challenges and illustrates emerging practices that aim to make VET provision more accessible and effective.

The main findings of the Inform are as follows:

• Most EMN Member Countries, along with Serbia, allow beneficiaries of international protection and, in many cases, applicants for international protection to access mainstream VET programmes under the same conditions as nationals. In addition, eleven countries have developed specific VET programmes for these groups, some of which respond directly to labour-market shortages or target young people aged 16 to 18.
   
• Responsibility for organising VET generally lies with labour-market authorities,  such as public employment services (PES) and labour and/or employment ministries, as well as special labour-related offices.
   
• Fourteen countries recognise the prior skills and knowledge of all VET candidates, applying the same assessment process to beneficiaries and applicants as to nationals. Greece and Italy reported a special process for the validation of skills, knowledge and/or competencies for BIP and applicants for international protection. 
   
• Many countries provide mainstream incentives for participants in VET, such as financial allowances or transport support, and a few offer additional, targeted incentives specifically for beneficiaries and applicants for international protection. Separately, four countries provide incentives to employers—including subsidies, tax relief, or support measures such as mentoring and translation services—to encourage them to host or hire VET participants. 
   
• In Italy, beneficiaries and applicants are required to meet certain obligations, such as attending most scheduled training hours, while ten EMN Member Countries impose similar requirements on all VET participants.
   
• Public authorities in seven responding countries have data on the numbers of BIP and applicants for international protection who have participated in VET programmes. 
   
• Good practices include collaboration with the private sector, combination of VET programmes with work, creation of one-stop-shops for VET provision, recognition of prior learning, involvement of support persons, and use of communication materials. 
   
• Constraints and challenges include language barriers, challenges in the recognition of prior learning, and the lack of VET programmes adapted for BIP and applicants for international protection.

The full Inform is attached above. For more detailed country-specific information, please refer to the ad hoc query that was used to collect the data for this Inform.