A financial aid package of 2.5 million euros will be created and used to train immigrants to work in the tourism sector.
On July 4, as part of the Accelerate the Economy program, the Portuguese Government announced that 2.5 million euros from the budget of the government entity, Tourism of Portugal, will be used as an aid package to create and deploy a program to integrate immigrants and refugees.
In its first phase, this new program is estimated to be able to provide help to 1000 people, so that they can get the necessary training to work in the tourism sector.
Even though there are still no official dates, the communication states that the training will include two phases. The first phase will consist of educational training (both theoretical and practical) provided by the network of hospitality and tourism schools belonging to Tourism of Portugal, which will also finance the first phase. The second phase, on the other hand, will consist of a professional internship at one of the hospitality and/or tourism companies that choose to adhere to the program and will be paid for by the company in question.
The program will “welcome professionals and non-professionals, for a training/integration project that aims to contribute to the improvement of the conditions of integration of refugees and migrants in Portugal.” Due to the current state of the hospitality and tourism sector and the shortage of well-trained professionals, the program will benefit both migrants and the country’s economy.
The objectives of the program include the development of “strategic partnerships for the qualification and integration of young people” in the countries belonging to the CPLP (Community of Countries of Portuguese Language), which is a multilateral organization formed by the nine countries that have Portuguese as an official language (Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé e Príncipe, and Timor Leste).
