Institutional and Labour Support for Young Migrants in Vulnerable Situations

Problem Identification

Young adult migrants — especially those without regular documentation and those experiencing homelessness — face a highly fragmented and inaccessible bureaucratic system. The available training programmes available are often not tailored to their interests or their linguistic and cultural realities, while institutional support is minimal or non-existent. The absence of migrant professionals in institutional roles exacerbates this disconnect, creating a reliance on informal networks and increasing the risk of prolonged exclusion and dargerous situations, such as exploitation, and exposure to criminal groups.

Proposed Solutions

1. Formalisation of a First Reception Network Based on Migrant Experience

Create a public network of "migrant referents" to act as first contact points for newly arrived individuals, inspired by practices already developed in informal community organisations. This could operate from neutral spaces such as libraries, civic centres, or information points, and would be made up of people with migratory experience who have been trained as social educators or community mediators.

2. Reform of Access Criteria for Housing and Integration Programmes

Prioritise young people over 18 who are homeless or experiencing housing insecurity in reception and training programmes, particularly where there is risk to mental health or vulnerability to exploitation networks.

3. Flexible Adaptation of Existing Public Training

• Introduce initial training programmes that do not require language proficiency, with parallel language instruction.

• Design training content based on participants' interests and prior skills, even when no formal documentation is available.

• Promote agreements with cooperatives and companies to implement programmes that ensure continuity and real employment opportunities, including paid internships.

4. Recognition and Flexible Accreditation of Skills

Implement a micro-credential and skill certification system based on actual experience (formal or informal), including competencies developed in countries of origin.

5. Civil Rights and Political Participation

Include in the public agenda the proposal for regularisation based on social integration (arraigo) as a path for these individuals to exercise political rights such as voting or participating in local democratic processes.

Responsible Areas and Entities

• Directorate General for Migration (Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration)

• Municipal governments and local offices for reception and social inclusion

• Departments of Youth and Social Rights (regional governments)

• DGAIA (in Catalonia) and equivalent child protection services in other regions

• National Institute for Qualifications (INCUAL)

• Ministry of Labour and Social Economy – Directorate General for Self-Employment, Social Economy and CSR

• Cooperatives and social enterprise networks linked to employment programmes

Concrete Actions

• Design and implement a municipal pilot project in cities like Barcelona, Madrid, or Valencia to formalise the role of institutional migrant reference figures.

• Create grants/ funding opportunities for cooperatives or companies that adapt training programmes to migrant populations, with a commitment to post-training job placement.

• Reform access criteria for youth housing programmes to prevent the automatic exclusion of individuals without legal residence or fixed address.

• Develop an inter-institutional agreement to enable fast-track recognition of skills through micro-credentials valid across the EU.

• Launch multilingual, in-person information campaigns in high-traffic public spaces (libraries, fairs, stations) to inform people of their rights and available resources.

This policy emerges from the real-life experiences of young people like Awa, Mamadou, and Yassir (fictional names), whose life stories reveal the failings of a system that overlooks their voices, interests, and knowledge. The character of Fátima, portrayed on stage as an institutional officer with migrant experience, is a direct source of inspiration: a clear sign that empathy can be institutionalised. This proposal aims to multiply figures like her, and to connect the dreams of these young people with a system that recognises them as citizens in progress, not merely as subjects to be regularised.