apologies for cross-posting ...

                          Hidden treasure:
          the prior experience, skills and competences of
                           immigrant women
                      Wednesday 21st March 2001
            Venue: University of East London, Docklands
                               Campus

A European team, headed by Germany, with Denmark, the Czech
Republic and the United Kingdom, is currently investigating the
kinds of skills, experience and competences that immigrant and
refugee women may bring to their new countries, principally
through interviews with over a hundred women. It is a well-
known problem that overseas qualifications (with certain
exceptions) are frequently not recognised. Not only does this kind
of learning tend to be overlooked, the women themselves rarely
recognise, unaided, their considerable potential, particularly when
they are struggling to adapt to a new language, culture,
educational system, labour market and so on, and in some cases
separation from family and perhaps flight and exile. There is an
important role for guidance here: firstly, to help the women
recognise the value of their prior experience, skills and
competences; and secondly, to act as advocates and change
agents with learning providers and employers, so that women are
given the chance to enter education or employment at a level
which allows them to build on what they already know and using
the skills they already have, instead of, as is so often the case,
having to start all over again from the beginning.
The conference will be of interest to guidance practitioners,
providers of education and training, immigrant and refugee
organisations and policy-makers.
For further details, please contact Pamela at
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
To be put on the conference email list, please contact
[log in to unmask]
Otherwise contact Val Nobbs, The Bridge Project, 116 Cavell
Street, Whitechapel, London E1 2JA, tel. 020 7247 7819

i apologise for any lateness, brevity, misspellings and lower case - i have rsi and am trying to reduce my computer use
Dr Pamela M Clayton
Department of Adult and Continuing Education
University of Glasgow
59 Oakfield Avenue
Glasgow G12 8LW
Tel/fax +44 141 330 5640
Home tel/fax +44 141 959 7699
Home email [log in to unmask]