Local Match in Refugee Resettlement

This project aims to discover how the government can better match newly arrived refugees with Norwegian municipalities through better linking of settlement, skills, and labour needs.

Refugees’ qualifications and competencies form a resource that is not adequately utilised. Local labour markets have different needs and refugees have different skills. This means that matching refugees with local labour markets requires thorough planning and flexible organization. Speedy and targeted refugees settlement is a main goal of IMDi's work, which is to contribute to higher employment rates for newly arrived refugees through better linking of settlement, skills, and labour needs. Our project defines well-matched refugee settlement as “settlement that increases the likelihood of education, qualification and work”.

Research questions

1. Which refugee settlement models are relevant?
2. Which information about the person to be settled is required in order to match refugees and the local community?
3. Is there a need for adaptations of the mapping work conducted in reception centres to ensure sufficient and correct information when matching refugees and municipalities?
4. Which knowledge about the municipalities is needed for competence mapping to facilitate well-matched settlement?
5. How should the required knowledge be systematised to be up-to-date and accessible to users?

To investigate this, we will review international research and policy literature and analyse success rates and degrees of transferability. We will also conduct a survey targeting the settlement municipalities, and interview important actors in the field.