Vocational orientation

Organisational requirements

The prerequisite for refugees to be able to go to work is the Registration. Responsible is the Foreigners' Registration Office at the respective place of residence. There Ukrainians receive a residence permit.

There are three options for a long-term residence permit:

In any case, the acquired residence title must be accompanied by the note "Gainful employment permitted" in order for Ukrainian refugees to be allowed to work here.

Job search in Germany

The German labor market offers numerous vacancies: both for unskilled workers with low Germann language skillsn as well as for qualified specialists. German companies are very open to hiring of refugee Ukrainians and publish*and publish job offers specifically for this target group. Personnel is sought primarily in the following areas: STEM professions, nursing, trade, gastronomy, agriculture and crafts.

Job profiles in Germany

If the Ukrainians you support do not yet know what profession they would like to pursue, you can jointly visit a vocational information center on site or online via berufenet to get an initial overview of the occupational profiles in Germany. What is relevant here is not only which professions are available, but also which qualifications are necessary for them.

In addition, there are occupational groups in which the demand for workers is particularly high because they suffer from a shortage of skilled workers. In these areas, the application chances are usually particularly high. Here, too, however, the requirements profile must be matched with the qualifications of the refugees. You can find a list of all shortage occupations here.

Possible occupational fields with low German language skills

Especially shortly after arrival, a lack of language skills is a major hurdle for refugees in their search for work. Therefore, important attention should be paid to this and, if necessary, a German course should be completed. Here you will find a placement test to check how comprehensive the previous German language skills are.

However, quite a few refugees would like to earn their ownt to earn their own money right away. We have compiled a list of suitable professions below:

• Drivers for pharmacies, mail order companies, suppliers, courier services (driver's license required)
• Shelf stockers for supermarkets, furniture stores, company warehouses (forklift driving license an advantage)
• Salespersons at bakeries
• Cleaners
• Helpers in gardens, parks and forests (chainsaw license an advantage)
• Kitchen helpers in large kitchens and catering companies
• sorters, packers in the mail order business
• Referring support staff at large vaccination and testing sites against Covid 19.

Apprenticeship-specific vocational orientation

The Ukrainian refugees bring with them different educational backgrounds which leads to individually different career opportunities:

• If the refugee already has several years of several years of work experience he or she may be able to enter the German labor market directly in the relevant profession. A good assessment of how relevant the existing work experience is for the German labor market is provided by this portal.
• If refugees start/continue start/continue an apprenticeship they can apply here and here to get an impression of most German apprenticeships.
• If the refugee you are supporting has has no training/work experience or simply wants to earn money as quickly as possible, he/she can work part-time or full-time as an unskilled helper. There are many opportunities, especially in the trades and services sector. Good places to start are, for example, the Chambers of Crafts and generally the job exchange of the Federal Employment Agency.