“Also possible without a language test”
Crafts want to be able to hire refugees more quickly
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In order to be able to integrate refugees into the labor market more quickly, the German Craft Association is calling for more pragmatism. Language tests and integration courses are obsolete and the bureaucratic hurdles are outdated. The FDP and the Greens are also in favor of abolishing existing work bans.
In view of the shortage of skilled workers, the trade sector is calling for faster and unbureaucratic integration of refugees into the labor market. “An entrepreneur should decide for himself who he can employ in his company,” said the President of the Central Association of German Crafts, Jörg Dittrich, to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “This should be possible without language tests and integration courses.” “We have to be much more pragmatic,” demanded Dittrich. “If someone is working, they may learn the language much more quickly – and integrate much more easily.”
In principle, refugees can take up employment in Germany after three months. “However, this has too many exceptions and should be urgently revised,” said Dittrich. “The responsible authorities are more than ever called upon to interpret their discretion in a way that is training and employment-friendly.” On Friday, the German Association of Cities and Municipalities had already spoken out in favor of the possibility of immediate employment for refugees with prospects of staying. Chancellor Olaf Scholz was open. In many cases it is already possible to start work, he told SWR on Friday. “But there's more.”
Recognition of qualifications a “horror topic”
“We finally need a complete abolition of the many still existing work bans for refugees,” said the Green party leader in the Bundestag, Katharina Dröge, to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “This makes sense and can be implemented in the short term.”
The chairman of the FDP parliamentary group, Christian Dürr, called on the federal states to create the conditions for an accelerated start of work. By the next migration summit between Chancellor Scholz and the state heads of government at the beginning of November, he expects “a concept of how the immigration authorities will issue work permits digitally and unbureaucratically in the future,” he told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. The recognition of professional qualifications is also “a horror issue. Large companies may be able to manage it, but the master painter with five journeymen is completely overwhelmed by it.”
The logistics group DHL, which already employs many refugees, also demanded relief. “In our view, it would be beneficial to minimize the length of the work ban for early integration into the labor market,” said a spokeswoman for the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. In addition, “holders of driving licenses from third countries should be able to rewrite their driving license more easily if it meets European requirements”.
According to figures from the Nuremberg Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB), 54 percent of refugees with a stay of six years are employed. Of these, two thirds work full-time and 70 percent have a qualified job.
