Cultúr’s Upskilling Project

CULTÚR

November 2022

Introduction to the organisation

Cultúr is a regional community organization based in counties Meath and Louth, working with ethnic minorities including immigrants, migrant workers, asylum seekers and refugees.

Introduction to the problem / challenge that they address 

In 2000 for the first time in Irish history, Ireland experienced inward migration from countries around the world including Eastern Europe, Asia, The Middle East, and Africa. There was very little awareness amongst the wider community of the new communities and cultures arriving. When the remote and isolated Direct Provision centre was established in Mosney, Co Meath, there were little to no supports either for the new communities to understand Irish culture or for the local community to integrate the new communities.

Turning point in the development of the organisation/ project

Local community leaders, both Irish and immigrant, got together to start supporting the new communities, including people living in Ireland’s largest Direct Provision centre in Mosney, and the newly arrived Eastern European migrants who came to work in the rural communities in Co Meath. Cultúr was established to support migrant communities who were experiencing poverty and social isolation, due to little or no English language, and discrimination.

Solution that they offer

Cultúr started by offering support such as conversational English classes, mother and toddler groups, women’s groups, and a drop-in-centre for information and referral in multiple languages. Originally a volunteer lead group, in 2004 Cultúr became a registered charitable entity, started to receive funding, and was in a position to hire staff and develop and grow the support for the communities of Meath and Louth. Now a one-stop centre for the new communities and the local community to support and promote integration, inter-cultural awareness and mutual understanding, Cultúr uses a community development approach to address social justice issues and the challenges faced by ethnic minorities and disadvantaged communities. Cultúr is a multi-cultural lead organisation and has a passionate and diverse team, representing people from cultures around the world.

Resolution – vision for the future

In 2021 we supported over 2000 people from 55 countries. Our aim is to acquire on-going core-funding that will allow us to develop and grow as an organisation and to realise our vision.

Our vision is to have a well-resourced community hub for the migrant and new communities. Our vision is build awareness of our services and supports both amongst the local and new communities. Our vision is to expand our dedicated team of professionals and to have a full-time staff of 10 by 2025.

Call to action

Visit our website

Sign the petition

Donate to our building fund

Sign up- as a volunteer

Join our board

Follow us on social media

We are delighted to announce the second phase of our ‘UpSkilling Program,’ which will respond to high levels of demand on the current accredited upskilling training to empower 180 migrants through education and promote employability skills for 3 years. The programme is tailored to respond to labour market demand and targeted to provide training/support to migrants who are marginalised and at risk of falling through the gaps of mainstream support while addressing language barriers and supporting the mental health and wellbeing of migrants.

Cultúr’s Upskilling Project seeks to assist migrants and ethnic communities who have lost their jobs or are re-evaluating their employment opportunities as a result of COVID-19 to upskill and improve their employability in these challenging times.

Migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees possess diverse perspectives and a wide range of skills that would benefit any employer. However, they face many challenges in gaining access to the labour market because of language barriers, low levels of economic participation, mismatch of skills and extended periods of unemployment due to their migration journey. The UpSkilling Project will provide training and supports to migrant and ethnic minorities who are marginalised and do not seek other general employment supports. The project will support 60 migrants to develop specific skills to meet gaps in the local employment market and re-orient participants from former employment roles to in demand opportunities. This will be done by facilitating participants to undergo vocational bridging courses that are accredited by various industries and by providing online work skills programmes and a comprehensive life skills employability programme. Migrants are resilient, adaptable and dynamic which are characteristics that will help them succeed in an era of rapid change with the assistance of the UpSkilling project.

This project is funded by Rethink Ireland

Henrietta:
The course I did was the Security course. And the tutor was really nice and helpful. The classes were also very helpful. The training materials helped me understand how to report more clearly.

I came to Ireland a year ago for an international project. During my first few months in here, I was lost and had no hope for the future of what I wanted to do, until a friend told me about Cultur Migrant Centre. I got the organization’s contact number and I called and spoke to a lovely woman.
I asked her to help me build up a career in driving and security.  She enrolled me for Counterbalance, PPT, and a Reach Truck driver Licence at Dublin Airport Driving School,

                                                                        Bashir:
I was lucky enough to hear about Cultur’s UpSkilling training program and so, I
applied for the security course. I was immediately enrolled in the course after my conversation with a member of staff who gave me all the information I needed and assisted me before and during the training.