CAREER GUIDANCE IN MULTICULTURAL CONTEXTS An Italian Case Study

The wave of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe presents a challenge not justfor society as a whole, but also for the response that career guidance can make.Over and above humanitarian measures, the welfare and integration of the newarrivals requires the putting into place of appropriate training and job placementservices, with career guidance potentially playing a valuable role. Guidance canhelp reduce the initial disorientation that inevitably affects displacement, ensuringthat the migrants’ cultural, emotional and intellectual resources are acknowledged,valued, and deployed in ways that open up opportunities to make a living and toflourish in the host country. Such career guidance needs to be attuned to the culturaldifferences, and to tailor services in ways that respect diversity. Italy, however, hasnot drawn benefit from the experience of other countries, nor drawn lessons from thelong-standing international literature on successful multiculturalism. Not only havefew institutions taken up the challenge of developing bespoke guidance programmesfor migrants, but those that have been developed often lack the advanced andspecialised competences that are required. This chapter casts a critical eye overthe situation in Italy, highlighting in particular the fate of the growing number ofunaccompanied minors who disembark on the peninsula in search of a new life andwork opportunities. Going beyond critique, the chapter also describes a programmethat has been put into place specifically to address the needs of this group who makeit to the Italian island of Sicily