Erfurt (dpa/th) – After a seven-year project period, those involved in the “Integration of Asylum Seekers and Refugees” network drew a positive conclusion at a specialist day on Monday. Network coordinator Christiane Welker said that 2,183 people had been advised on questions of integration into the labor market, for example. Only those cases were included in the statistics in which the consultation lasted at least eight hours. Many thousands of shorter, so-called minor consultations with the five sponsors of the network were not recorded.
According to the information, the main countries of origin of people in need of advice were Afghanistan and Syria, and refugees from Eritrea, Iraq and the Western Balkans, among others, were also given advice and care. Almost 40 percent were between 19 and 25 years old and more than 30 percent between 26 and 35 years. Most of the participants were therefore still quite young, which is why career orientation and placement in an apprenticeship formed a focal point.
It was said that more than 50 percent of the participants were successfully placed, 611 of them in jobs subject to social security contributions. It is particularly pleasing that 339 participants have started an apprenticeship. Placements, for example for internships, voluntary services or language courses, are not recorded in the statistics.
Counseling for people without a secure residence status has often proved to be very time-consuming, since a perspective on residence law had to be worked out in addition to professional advice. In addition, those involved in the network have found that some employers do not want to hire people with a toleration status. They were afraid that they would then be deported and would no longer be available to the respective company.
