The Federal Employment Agency helps provide refugees with work
According to Deutsche Welle, 2,800 migrants from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Eritrea, Iran and Sri Lanka were respondents in the representative study. Most of those surveyed were men under 35 who applied for political asylum between 2007 and 2012.
Although the survey was conducted in 2014, one of the study's authors, Susanne Worbs, believes its results help understand the current refugee situation. After all, a significant portion of those surveyed are from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Migrants from these countries also make up the majority of refugees today. "We believe that based on the study, conclusions can be drawn about the needs of citizens from these countries who arrived in Germany in 2015," says Susanne Worbs.
At the time of the survey, more than a third of refugees had found employment. The most common professions were both those requiring no additional training—loaders, cleaners, and fast-food restaurant workers—and those requiring specialized qualifications—long-haul truck drivers, bakers, pastry chefs, and butchers. Less than 20 percent of those who found work landed higher positions requiring a university degree.
These data, combined with an analysis of respondents' education levels, led the study's authors to suggest that people who receive asylum in Germany often cannot find work in their field. As a result, only 41.7 percent of migrants are satisfied with their job. Meanwhile, family situation, health, housing conditions, and social circle satisfy more than 70 percent of them.
According to Worbs, the problems refugees face when looking for work in Germany are due to a whole complex of reasons. Certainly, one of the most important is knowledge of the German language. Another difficulty lies in the specifics of the German labor market, which has a rigid system of certifying specialists. In other words, sometimes it turns out that migrants who received some education in their home country are unable to confirm their qualifications with the relevant documents. "It is important that in such cases, competent refugees still have the opportunity to apply their skills in the labor market," believes Susanne Worbs.
One should not overlook the fact that, due to lack of practice, many professional skills are lost over several years of wandering through refugee camps and awaiting the outcome of an asylum application. Susanne Worbs also notes that a certain skepticism among employers towards migrants also plays a role.
According to the author of the study, what particularly impressed her was the high motivation of refugees to integrate into the labor market. Ninety percent of respondents expressed a desire to work, with women only slightly behind men in this regard. According to the study, professional success and good earnings to support the family are the main goals of the majority of migrants. Some of those surveyed specifically emphasized that they do not want to depend on state support.
Furthermore, according to the study, many migrants feel gratitude for the opportunity to live in Germany. "Even those who have faced difficulties, for example with housing or work, are very grateful for the right to be here and live in peace and safety," emphasizes Susanne Worbs. Although only six percent of refugees mentioned gratitude when talking about their desires, nearly half of them wrote in the 'Notes' section at the end of the questionnaire words roughly like: 'This country has done a lot for me and restored my optimism.'