The Mediterranean Network for Training to Regular migration (MENTOR II) project wrapped up activities on 12 October 2024 with an event in Tangier, Morocco. The event convened around 100 participants, project partners from Morocco and Tunisia, the EU Delegation to Morocco and Moroccan and Tunisian trainees with testimonies of their entrepreneurial and professional projects.

Main results and key data

MENTOR II was active between 2021 and 2024 as a circular mobility scheme that offered professional traineeship opportunities to young Moroccans and Tunisians in Northern Italy. From an initial 1000-strong applications from both countries, 41 trainees were finally selected to undertake six-month placements in 36 companies in the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy.

Trainees were employed in a wide variety of sectors, including the automotive industry, ICT, engineering, renewable energy and the green economy, services, agri-food production, the plastics industry, communication and cultural mediation. For the moment, 27% of participants have returned and the remaining cohort are exploring their professional opportunities in Italy or in their home countries.

What lessons can be drawn from this project?

Aside from these initial numbers, MENTOR II featured several innovative practices in terms of project design that are worth highlighting for other practitioners. Similar elements are applied in other MPF “second-generation” projects MOVE GREEN and DIGITALENTS.

A 360-degree approach combined individual support and integration as well post-return measures with research; focused on cooperation between sub-national level institutions; and supported ongoing bilateral municipal-level cooperation mobility agreements between Italy, Morocco and Tunisia.

Five elements to support mobility initiatives

1) Collaboration between national, regional and local entities

The project built on results from its predecessor MENTOR, applying a multi-stakeholder and a city-to-city approach to develop sustainable cooperation and dialogue across local, regional and national governance levels in Italy, Morocco and Tunisia. At municipal level, cooperation was encouraged by organising local committees to generate ownership and target sectors and geographical areas considered ‘in need’ of human capital development on both sides of the Mediterranean.

The project targeted practitioners and civil servants belonging to different institutions and stakeholders in all target countries; Italian companies working in the economic key sectors targeted by the project; municipalities in all countries involved; international and European city networks; young postgraduates from Morocco and Tunisia.

2) Capacity building for all organisations involved

Aside from supporting the individual job placements within Italian companies, the project team developed capacity building activities that involved civil servants, employment agencies, youth centres and enterprises’ services, in bilateral North-South exchanges, training for trainers, to promote shared knowledge, skills, and sustainable mobility cooperation schemes.

3) Research, complementarity and policy coherence

A research component assessed local labour markets’ needs and skill/professional profiles in target provinces (Beni Mellal – Khenifra region, Tunis, Tangier and Sfax) within Morocco and Tunisia. On the Italian side, it explored post-pandemic changes for business to assess updated labour market needs in sectors such as the automotive industry, design and luxury, tourism, pharmaceutics, IT, health, and clean tech, among others.

The project team also mapped ongoing EU-funded projects in Tunisia and Morocco on legal migration and similar activities to find operational synergies and complementarities and ensure post return support and job insertion.

4) The social dimension of mobility schemes: integration measures

The permanence of trainees in Italy was facilitated by cultural mediators that helped trainees to understand cultural and social differences and improve their professional and living experience. Besides, in collaboration with the Municipality of Milan and Turin, traineeships were complemented by social and cultural initiatives and language training.

5) The post-return dimension

An important element of the design of the project was the post return dimension. Trainees were supported with business plan development or job search in the sectors they had conducted their traineeships in upon return to Morocco or Tunisia. Currently, 39 post-return projects were submitted to the project committee to receive seed funding for entrepreneurial activities or individual professional development.

Background information

MENTOR II is implemented by the Municipality of Milan in cooperation with the Municipality of Turin, Piedmont Employment Agency (APL), Metropolitan Agency for Training, Orientation and Work (AFOL), the National Association Beyond the Borders (ANOLF), Soleterre, Foreign Centre for Internationalisation of Piedmontese companies (CEIPIEMONTE), Italian Agency for Internationalisation of Italian companies (Promos Italia), and the Centre for Studies of International Politics (CeSPI). Further information is available in the project’s infonote.

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[external link in Italian] Conferenza finale del progetto europeo MENTOR 2

[external link in French] Conférence finale du projet européen MENTOR 2 : Renforcer la mobilité circulaire entre l'Europe et l'Afrique