"Ukrainian Jobseekers Face Initial Hurdles with 'Jobturbo' Platform"
Federal authorities in Germany aim to incorporate around 200,000 Ukrainian men and women into the workforce via a government support program. However, reports suggest that only a small portion of the Ukrainian refugees have been successfully integrated into the job market through the "Jobturbo" initiative of the Ministry of Labor.
The "Passau Newspaper" reported in June, citing data from the Federal Employment Agency, that roughly 32,794 Ukrainian individuals moved out of unemployment and into employment or training programs within the "Jobturbo" framework between November of last year and May of the current year. This figure falls short of the initial government target.
Labor Minister Hubertus Heil unveiled the support program in the fall, designed to hasten the integration of refugees with residence permits into the workforce. Initially, around 400,000 people, with roughly 200,000 from Ukraine, were expected to be integrated from closed integration and language courses. The focus is on enhanced support from Job Centers.
As of March, the Federal Employment Agency reported that 529,201 of the 1.17 million Ukrainian men and women living in Germany were employable. The employment rate stood at 26.5%, which includes part-time workers.
In comparison, 90,766 individuals from countries like Afghanistan, Syria, or Eritrea were integrated into the workforce between November and May. In April, Heil reviewed the "Jobturbo" and noted an approximately 225,000 increase in counseling sessions in Job Centers compared to the previous year in the considered period.
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- Despite the efforts of Job Centers to provide enhanced support, many unemployed Ukrainian refugees continue to face challenges in finding jobs, contributing to the high unemployment rate among them.
- The German refugee policy focuses on integrating unemployed refugees with residence permits, including Ukrainians, into the workforce through initiatives like "Jobturbo", but the success rate so far falls short of initial targets.
- The integration of Ukrainian refugees into the job market through the "Jobturbo" program has been slower than expected, with only a fraction of the expected number of individuals finding employment or participating in training programs.
