Dortmund (dpa/lnw) – One year after the start of the war in Ukraine, several thousand refugee women and men are already integrated into the North Rhine-Westphalian labor market. Many have already completed language courses and made a successful start, said Andrea Nahles, Chairwoman of the Federal Employment Agency, on Friday in Dortmund. According to the employment agency, more than 16,000 Ukrainian refugees had taken up work in NRW by November 2022, three quarters of them in employment subject to social security contributions. Nationwide, 67,000 Ukrainians are already employed full-time.
At the Federal Agency’s “Jobaktiv” trade fair on Friday, refugees were also able to find out about career opportunities in various sectors. For refugees, the biggest hurdles in integrating into the labor market are the recognition of professional qualifications, a lack of language skills and a lack of childcare, reported Roland Schuessler, head of the NRW regional directorate of the employment agency. The last point in particular is often crucial, emphasized Nahles. Most of the Ukrainian refugees are women and children. They were not prepared for the additional need for care. “Here we want to improve the situation in the short term through childminders.”
Schuessler said that the waiting time for language courses, which ranges from three to 36 weeks depending on the region, is also being improved. More than 21,000 refugees from Ukraine are currently in language courses in NRW. The long-term goal is to enable people to “qualify appropriately integrate” through employment in their trained profession. 72 percent of the refugees come to Germany with an academic degree.
To date, NRW has taken in more than 225,000 refugees from Ukraine. According to the employment agency, around 90,000 adults are registered with the job centers.