Chances of access to vocational training for young refugees with a right to remain in Germany – opportunities and barriers in guidance and support

Prof. Dr. Nicole Pötter
Department of Applied Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Munich

Introduction:
Large numbers of mostly young refugees have been arriving in Germany since 2013. They are frequently able to remain in the country on a longer term basis or permanently and are being afforded the opportunity to integrate into German society. Facilitation of societal participation is closely linked to successful integration into the German labour market. One major prerequisite for this may be the completion of (company-based) vocational education and training. However, accessing such training is anything but simple for young refugees with the right to remain, and such persons are increasingly in receipt of basic unemployment benefits. Providing guidance and subsequent support measures to young refugees is central to the success of such a transition.

Goals:
The aim of the research is to conduct an investigation at three very different locations in Germany into the extent to which guidance and support can open up routes into (company-based) vocational training for this target group, into which barriers and innovative approaches are being revealed along these pathways and into how, against this background, guidance and support (provision and measures) can be designed and implemented in a precise and needs-oriented manner.

Research design/methods:
Because this field of investigation has been the object of very little study so far, this exploratory project will pursue a qualitative approach. Semi-standardised (expert) interviews and open-ended interviews (with persons affected) will be conducted with individual advisors, recognised refugees at job centres, youth employment agencies and youth migration services. Transcripts will be mainly analysed from a content analysis point of view. Materials relating to the local organisational and conceptual general conditions for guidance and support will also be researched and evaluated using a documentary analysis. Findings will be collated and compacted to create location-related case studies. Finally, we will conduct a selectively comparative evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the pathways used to integrate young refugees into (company-based) vocational education and training and use this to derive conclusions for practice.

Running duration:
15.08.2017 - 15.11.2019

Funded by:
Federal Institute for Vocational, Education and Training