Work: What the state has to do for refugees from Ukraine – Economy

Visibly euphoric innkeepers next to new, grateful employees – they are supposedly beautiful pictures at the moment, they convey confidence. But behind that optimism is a misconception. Thinking about labor shortages and refugee movements together, as is happening again, doesn’t work, not yet. In theory, it would be possible to fill vacancies of tomorrow with refugees from today. But this would require a fundamental system change.

Of course, the thought is obvious: on the one hand, people come in their hundreds of thousands, looking for security, but also for work. On the other hand, employers from bakers to technology groups are urgently looking for staff. That raised hopes in 2015, on both sides. But looking back shows that combining both challenges only works to a limited extent. Since people came here from Syria seven years ago, not countless of them have become permanent doctors in German hospitals. But since then thousands of people have learned the German language with a lot of diligence and against resistance, fought through the authorities, worked their way into training. Whether they really arrived often depended on luck and coincidence. Some mechanics have given up on having their training recognised, some refugees clean even though they have studied.

Precisely because not everything went smoothly, we have since known what is crucial for integration: fast language courses, accommodation in prosperous areas or where the newcomers have friends, childcare, planning security and individual advice.

Again there is a lack of childcare and prospects

The situation for those who are now coming is better from an economic and integrative perspective: the level of education of the Ukrainians is high, the first year is safe, the number of helpers is large. But a lot of things are going badly, even though you know better. The prospect of staying is initially only valid for one year, and work permits must be applied for. People receive money through the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, although their chances of finding work would be better if they were registered with the job center for basic security. Once again, people are distributed according to the Königstein key, i.e. according to tax revenue and population density, and end up in structurally weak regions. Childcare, which is important for the many women, is by no means guaranteed. Quite apart from the fact that volunteers are once again providing apartments, that accommodation has to be rented again and teachers have to be recruited.

All of this is expensive, inefficient and short-term. The Ukrainians will not be the last people to flee to Germany. Even if the political situation were to ease up, the climate catastrophe is likely to increase migration figures. At the same time, the shortage of skilled workers is already a reality. Trying to solve it by recruiting qualified people alone is not just naïve. It is socially and economically explosive if, at the same time, people who are already here cannot or are not allowed to work.

The system and the legal situation still make it necessary to separate asylum law and labor immigration. But instead of starting from scratch with every refugee movement, the state should develop a permanent concept to integrate people who come into the labor market. There should be language courses and integration courses regardless of residence status, automatic verification of qualifications, housing options, childcare and individual advice.

That sounds expensive, but like many investments, it pays to invest initially for long-term benefit. Such a system change could do nothing less than fill the coffers of the welfare state and empty jobs. Conversely, keeping parts of the population away from the labor market and ultimately society has the higher price.

With such a system, refugee movements and a shortage of skilled workers could actually be thought of together. There is a long way to go until then. So long that the first steps are already worthwhile. The need is there – on both sides.

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