Training

West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership (WMSMP) has developed a one-day training course 'Understanding and Responding to the Asylum, Refugee and Migrant Experience' to equip participants from different sectors and agencies to respond to the changing face of our Region in terms of new migration.

The course has been designed to assist organisations, practitioners and policy-makers across the Region to respond to the challenges posed and the issues raised by new migration, understand better the experiences and needs of new arrivals and build knowledge of the entitlements and rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to access public funds and services.

Objectives

• Build understanding about the asylum process, different migrant categories and entitlements and asylum, refugee and migrant issues in the Region,
• Raise awareness about the experiences, backgrounds and needs of people from migrant and refugee backgrounds,
• Explore attitudes and perceptions towards those new to our country and communities,
• Develop practice that is responsive and sensitive to the diversity of cultural, linguistic and faith backgrounds in the Region.

Content

Course content can be adapted according to need with different emphases as required for different areas of practice such as community cohesion, safety, media and policy.
The core content is summarised below:

• Overview of definitions of migrant categories and associated policy, processes, entitlements and rights,
• Information about the different languages, faiths and countries of origin of people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in the West Midlands,
• Exploration of migrant and refugee experiences of working and living in the Region and identification of the key issues faced,
• Development of appropriate responses to these issues and the implications for service provision for people from refugee and migrant backgrounds,
• Examination of attitudes in relation to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants and ways of tackling prejudice, discrimination and racism,
• Application of the above to build cultural awareness and sensitive practice.

Trainers

The course draws on material that has been developed, piloted and used across the Region and produced in the Regional resource 'Where our Journeys Meet' via WMSMP's Regional Cohesion Group and is delivered by members of this group.

The trainers have significant experience in delivering training on refugee and migrant issues in a range of contexts and are also active practitioners in the migrant and refugee field in the Region and so are able to ground the course in this valuable experience. Each course will have two of the below trainers, giving both a strategic and operational focus and perspectives from the Statutory and the Voluntary and Community Sectors:

• Clare Daley Policy Officer, WMSMP
• Shari Brown Co-ordinator, RESTORE, Birmingham
• Penny Walker Co-ordinator, Coventry Peace House

Participants

• Practitioners
• Development Workers
• Policy Officers and Makers
• Local Authority Officers and Civil Servants
• Service Managers and Commissioners

Cost

The one-day course is available in-house at a cost of £650 / day +VAT for between 8-16 participants or via the WMLGA training programme at a cost of £140 / participant +VAT.

For more information about this training, please contact Clare Daley at WMSMP.

'A complete eye opener!' Course Participant (2008)