ESF-Committee – Refugees in Germany Arnold Hemmann Managing Authority, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs Brüssel, October 12, 2016

Challenge und Response   2013 2014 2015 2016 (1/1-21/9) Asylum seekers 127,023 202,834 890,000 210,000 Response: In 2016 estimated budgetary effort of €10-15 billion at federal level Additional €3.410 billion for the federal budget 2016 including €1.933 billion in the area of labour and social affairs

Responsibilities at federal level contributory unemployment benefit (vs. tax-financed unemployment benefits (States)) Active labor market policies: Measures promoting the qualification of the unemployed Incentive schemes for employers and the self-employed Direct provision of jobs

Measures at federal level 5 pieces of legislation defining rights and obligations of asylum seekers and tolerated persons, main goals: speeding up asylum proceedings and promoting integration Integration through language training Access to integration courses for asylum seekers with a high probability of staying in Germany and certain groups of tolerated persons vocationally-specific language courses for asylum seekers and tolerated persons (2016: 100,000 places; 2017: 200,000 places)

Measures at federal level Early labour market integration Access to employment promotion measures and benefits for asylum seekers and tolerated persons Labour market programme (refugee integration measures) specifically designed for asylum seekers with a high probability of staying in Germany (2017-2020 annual funding of 300 million Euro) Early access to vocational training support schemes for asylum seekers and tolerated persons Tolerated-person status for the time of vocational training

European Social Fund - Federal Level roughly €2.7 billion ESF main target groups: migrants, young people and young adults, particularly those without a school-leaving or vocational qualification, long-term unemployed support and strengthen national activities, particularly those related to labour market policy mixture of new approaches and existing tried-and-tested programmes target 2023: 168,000 migrants (2015: 25,000 migrants have entered ESF programmes)

European Social Fund - Federal Level Focus on deprived neighbourhoods with lots of migrants (2015 – 2022: €280 million ESF) strengthen local communities and enhance social cohesion in cities and municipalities: integrating people into the workforce and strengthening the local economy In addition, national funding of measures for urban development in those areas: investments in the residential environment, infrastructure and the quality of housing Focus on job-related German language courses (2015 – 2017: €233 million ESF) classic language tuition including specialised job-related vocabulary and actual internships in companies Mainstreaming into the national system in 2017

European Social Fund - Federal Level Focus on training and qualification within the context of the Recognition Act (2015-2022: €140 million ESF) up-skilling courses, bridging and qualification measures for migrants whose foreign professional credentials are not fully recognised in Germany targets: full recognition, integration into the labour market in line with their qualifications Focus on asylum seekers and refugees (2015 – 2019: €36.3 million ESF) strengthen the offerings of the employment agencies that often do not reach this target group; training courses for businesses, public administration, employment agencies to increase willingness to recruit this target group, stabilise employment relationships and improve the quality of labour market support targeted advice and guidance, company-focussed activation and skills development, as well as placement in work or training