<< Background >>Labour market integration of migrants and refugees from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) need a common approach between the receiving countries highlighting areas of good practices, while also examining integration barriers. Research shows that skilled migration from LAC countries has dramatically increased over the last decade. This can be due to the rising number of people seeking political asylum in the European Union, driven up by Latin American refugees, particularly from Venezuela. The rise was partly caused by a surge of Venezuelans and other Latin American asylum seekers who are fleeing political and economic crises in their countries. One potential reason for this is that traditionally, many people from LAC fleeing political regimes or gang violence, have sought refuge in the United States of America, but the Trump administration made it much more difficult for people to seek asylum, therefore many opted for Europe instead. Venezuela is experiencing an economic collapse, triggered by a prolonged political crisis, which has unleashed the biggest migratory crisis in recent South American history with some 4 million Venezuelans estimated to have fled the country in recent years. This has caused a nearly 50% increase of applications in Spain last year when the new trend consolidated, as most Venezuelans heading to Europe seek refuge in the country with which they share language and heritage.In that sense, Member States of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA), which includes all the 28 EU countries, plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, Venezuelans filed more than 18,400 asylum applications from January through May 2019, representing roughly twice as many as during the same period in 2018, making them the nationality with the second highest number of applications in Europe after Syrians.In turn, Spain has become one of the EU's top receivers of asylum applications, nearly as many as Italy, which was among the countries bearing the brunt of the 2015 crisis. Rome has seen arrivals halving last year after introducing stricter border controls. However, only a fraction of asylum applicants are accepted by European States, with those rejected forced to go back home or lodge a second application. But for those who stay, many face challenges to integrate into the labor market. Information on the education level of migrants is quite limited; however, the little information available shows a high participation of persons who have been to university or have completed secondary school. This demonstrates a strong selectivity in terms of the average education of the population in the countries of origin. In recent years, there has been a tendency in some migration flows to target migrants for jobs requiring fewer skills. Integration into the labour market is directed mainly towards the service sector. The high participation rate of women in migration responds to the demands of the labour market segments that are gender selective, such as domestic service or other types of personal services, such as caring for children or the elderly. There is little information available about the occupations of immigrants. But there are indications that show a gap between occupational insertion and the education level of most of the migrants. Analyses on immigrants and labour markets in the developed countries (Sassen, 1988; Martin, 1999) conclude that immigrants tend to be inserted at the extremes. On the one hand, they respond to the demand for highly-skilled workers and, on the other, they tend to find jobs in areas that are traditionally lower skilled.The development of the project builds on a comprehensive analysis and needs assessment of the challenges, obstacles and opportunities of the target group to integrate the labour market.<< Objectives >>The inclusion of migrants in the labour market is not only crucial for their effective integration but also contributes to Members States economies. The project aims to tackle the challenge of integrating migrants and refugees from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) into the European labour market by bringing together experienced partners and academia, and promoting a network of cooperation from countries that are amongst the most affected. To achieve this, the project aims to develop and pilot research-based educational training, as well as guidance and counselling for refugees and migrants from LAC countries to develop their potential to become active and productive members of society. The implementation of the training builds on a comprehensive analysis of the needs of the project’s target group. For the needs analysis during the first phase of the project, the participating organizations will conduct a comparative situation analysis that will combine elements of qualitative questioning and online focus groups. Furthermore, the research and development builds on the outcomes of a comprehensive analysis of literature and will produce academic outcomes.<< Implementation >>-4 Transnational Project Meetings to be held during the 24 months of the duration of the project (one every six months). -4 virtual transnational meetings. -Each partner will deliver 6 webinars to the target group and 2 informative seminars to the general public. - We will organise 2 Learning, Teaching and Training Activities in two partner universities. The first one for the project staff and the second for staff working in organisations that work directly with the target group. The project will also produce an academic paper. -4 Multiplayer events in: Spain, Belgium, Italy and Austria.<< Results >>The project's expected outcomes involve a thorough and relevant comprehensive analysis and needs assessment of the challenges, obstacles and opportunities the target group faces in each participating country and a comparative study in order to successfully integrate to the recipient’s country labour market. Projects results: R1 Research study and situation analysis with the target group at the centre to project a current view of the challenges and opportunities. R2 Using the needs assessment, training material will be developed and guidance for LAC will be offered. R3 Publication and dissemination of the findings, as well as a continued learning and networking online platform.