The acceptance of millions of refugees from war and crisis areas who have settled in Europe in recent years, constitutes a new challenge for countries that have opened their borders for them. One of them was the issue of ensuring the subsistence of Syrian migrants arriving to Europe. The simplest solution would be to provide them with employment which would allow them to support themselves, instead of relying on social benefit. However, it soon became clear that it would not be an easy task.
Where do refugees from Syria can find employment?
According to available data, only every fourth refugee from Syria works. In addition, about 30% of people in this group perform temporary jobs, and only one out of five migrants found employment with full benefits. Furthermore, Syrian refugees work mainly in services, hospitality industry and automotive industry. Most of them take up jobs below their qualifications and do not work in the profession which allowed them to live decently in Syria. And this often regards specialists in particular fields and educated people. Thus, countries accepting refugees are not able to fully use their potential, despite the fact that they have been struggling with labour shortages for years.
Barriers for getting a job
If it is not about the lack of skills or having the right education, what is the reason for such a high unemployment rate among refugees from Syria? In the first place it is the matter of language barrier.
Whether in Germany or Sweden, the migrants had difficulties in finding a job that suited their qualifications. All because the potential employers were reluctant to employ people who did not speak German or Swedish. Therefore, the period between arriving to Germany or Sweden and the beginning of work lasted very long. And this additionally hindered the integration of Syrian refugees with the rest of the society, they were supposed to become a part of.
This situation was frustrating for both sides. On the one hand, governments of countries accepting refugees from Syria spent a lot on social benefits without receiving anything in return. On the other hand, migrants also faced quite some obstacles in finding a job and starting a normal life. Fortunately, the solution was close at hand.
Work for refugees from Syria in HI-Tech industry
It turned out to be the HI-Tech industry, which suffers from a shortage of qualified employees. Both in Germany and Scandinavia there are many local and global companies constantly looking for HI-Tech employees. It is estimated that in Berlin alone, there are between 1800 and 3000 technology startups that can provide employment at once. What's more, manpower shortage is so extensive that lack of command of German or Swedish has ceased to be a problem. The companies from the HI-Tech sector started to willingly employ people who spoke English and knew the basics of computer science. Refugees in possession of such skills could easily find a job in the IT sector. Especially in companies that operate worldwide. In this case, command of English language turned out to be crucial, while the use of German or Swedish did not matter so much.
In addition, as soon as it became apparent that the employment gap in the HI-Tech sector could be filled by migrants, companies began to organize trainings and internships, preparing Syrian refugees for work, even if they had no previous experience in the HI-Tech industry.
Does this mean the end of unemployment among refugees from Syria? Of course the HI-Tech sector is not able to integrate everyone who needs a job. In addition, there are many formalities that hinder the employment of migrants, including obtaining a work permit. However, since we have already found the solution, we can take further steps to help implement it on a larger scale.
A quite interesting story of an emigrant from Syria was presented by the portal Eporner.com describing its employee, a talented programmer in the popular PHP language, an entrepreneur, a former owner of a small company, whose business, source of his livelihood and - according to his own words - the meaning of life, was destroyed by war... He came to Europe, where he accidentally met his current employers. This meeting gave him a second chance for a new and better life. It's no secret that the earnings of developers, especially programmers in the Eporner.com industry and adult sites, are very good. His example and example of the Eporner.com site, which does not care about the origin, skin colour or religious beliefs, became a small contribution to change the world for the better.
News source: https://www.eporner.com/news/read-the-history-of-saad-from-the-hell-of-war-to-the-it-industry/
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