The Saarpfalz-Kreis Job Centre has been involved in the "Job Turbo for Refugees" since October 2023 and will start with further activities and offers in April.
The Job Turbo is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Federal Employment Agency with the aim of accelerating the integration process for refugees.
The job centre currently supports around 980 employable people from Ukraine (plus 440 children) and around 1,340 employable people from predominantly Arab countries (plus 721 children). This is over 40 per cent of all Jobcentre customers.
Supporting people with a migration background is a central focus of the job centre's work, which has become increasingly important since the refugee movement in 2015.
Over the years, all of the Job Centre's processes - from the application for citizens' allowance to support in finding work, gaining qualifications and dealing with social and migration-specific problems - have been adapted to the needs of refugees. Support services have been developed and permanently incorporated into the job centre's offering. The employees have been and continue to be trained for this. District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo is satisfied: "Our job centre is thus well positioned and has so far been able to cope very well with the major challenges posed by migration movements."
The figures speak for themselves: in 2023 alone, a total of 924 entries into integration courses and vocational language courses run by the BAMF were realised. In addition, 332 refugees from Arab countries and 103 refugees from Ukraine were successfully integrated into employment subject to social security contributions. The job centre also registered around 200 entries into marginal employment from both groups.
Although the situation on the labour market has deteriorated overall compared to the previous year, over 100 more refugees were able to take up employment by the end of March.
"To ensure that this positive trend continues, we will now further expand our range of support services.
We have already organised specific activities and measures for the coming weeks. More are being planned," reports Dietmar Schönberger, Head of the Job Centre.
For the 17th calendar week, starting on 22 April, the job centre is planning daily job application days, which will take place both at employers' premises and at the job centre in Talstraße Homburg. In addition, an orientation measure on the labour market for refugees will be launched in cooperation with the CJD Homburg.
Also as part of the "Job Turbo" and by means of a coaching offer, graduates of integration language courses in particular are to receive intensive support from the job centre directly after completing the course. The aim here is to utilise the basic language skills for employment. Further language acquisition and further qualification should then take place in the employment relationship. This year, a total of 372 participants will complete their integration language course in the Saarpfalz district.
The programme also includes an information event for Ukrainians on the topic of the labour market and a topic-related information event for refugees entitled "Professions in the transport sector". The latter will focus on newly developed qualification offers with language support from the job centre, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Saarpfalz district's business development agency.
District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo: "It's high time we put the pedal to the metal and do everything we can to help refugees, some of whom are already very well qualified, to find work in our country even faster. We urgently need more skilled workers and labour - and the integration of foreign citizens can help us to alleviate the shortage in the long term."