Job center: Federal Audit Office sees deficiencies in “Job Turbo” for Ukrainians

According to the Federal Audit Office, the support of Ukrainian refugees through job centers is inadequate. In 2024, in 32 percent of cases there was no advice during an integration course, according to a test report from the control authority, which was previously reported by “Stern” and “Bild”. With consequences: without advice, the number of course dropouts was four times higher than with advice, according to the Federal Audit Office (BRH).

In addition, many refugees did not receive any placement suggestions after the course, as the report shows. And if so, the success rate was low: in the cases examined in 2024, less than one percent of the placement suggestions would have resulted in a hire.

In autumn 2023, the federal government announced the “job turbo”. The aim is to enable refugees with prospects of staying in a job more quickly. According to BRH information, around 720,000 Ukrainians are currently receiving citizen’s benefit. Of them, 500,000 are employable.

Slow increase in employment

Employment has only increased very slowly since 2022 – after the start of the Russian attack, writes the Court of Auditors. No major impact of the “job turbo” can be seen. The authority considers the federal government’s goal of reducing the burden on the federal budget by one billion euros in 2024 to be unrealistic. Instead, “significant additional expenditure on citizens’ money” is foreseeable.

According to the authority’s assessment, the placement work of the job centers has improved to some extent, but problems still remain. Data should be recorded better, consultations should take place more frequently and more suggestions for placement should be made. The Federal Ministry of Labor should create the conditions for faster language acquisition and integration into the job market at job centers.