04 Feb 2020
A recent study has shown that half of refugees in Germany will find employment within 5 years of their arrival in the country. “This means that labour market integration is somewhat faster than for refugees from previous years,” said the Institute for Labour Market and Vocational Research (IAB), who carried out the study. While there are still issues around gender equality and employment quality, the report praised Germany for its focus on language support and integration “In addition, significantly more has been invested in language and other integration programs for asylum seekers and recognized refugees since 2015”. However, the study also highlighted that only 29% of those refugees who were employed are women. This research highlights the importance of employment opportunities and how intrinsically linked they are to integration. It would be fantastic to see a focus on language support for refugees based on the German example, in the UK.