Due to demographic trends and low birth rates in the past years, Austria faces a striking lack of apprentices and skilled workers. At the same time, a steady stream of refugees has come into the country, among them talented and motivated unaccompanied minors. In 2015, the city of Trofaiach and the Institute for Talent Development joined forces and founded the project Talents for Austria, to provide the missing link between the Austrian job market and migrants reaching the country. This was achieved through the following model: boarding school – education – job training – job placement – external job support.
Talents for Austria combines primary care, education, job training and job placement for unaccompanied minor refugees (UMR). The focus areas of this model project, which is the only one of its kind in Austria, are:
- linguistic competences (German);
- basic education (mathematics, social studies and science);
- knowledge of customs, lifestyles and culture (values);
- specialist job training (for construction, gastronomy, local and regional small and medium-sized enterprises);
- job placement.
In two Talent for Austria schools in Styria (Trofaiach, Niklasdorf) 75 unaccompanied minor refugees were trained in 2017.
One colleague is acting as job integration coach, providing support for employers and new employees during all steps of the recruitment process and beyond the start of work, should any questions or uncertainties arise. Since the Institute provides housing, education and job training all under one roof, the UMRs learn Austrian culture and values in all settings (accommodation, school, workplace). Thus, a perspective is provided for a self-determined and independent life in Austria. The young refugees are completely integrated (language, values, culture, work), which allows them to become valuable members of the society. The specialist job training they receive significantly increases their chances of starting an apprenticeship and entering the job market. As apprentices, the UMRs contribute to the Austrian social system. At the same time, Austrian companies can fill vacant apprenticeship positions and respond to the shortage of skilled workers.
This approach provides a solution in times of big migratory movements and a growing shortage of apprentices and skilled workers due to demographic decline. Usually, only one third of the persons entitled to asylum have found a job after 5 years. Thus, our project is a simple calculation: the federal state saves €10 000 per refugee per year, if they are not receiving needs-based guaranteed minimum income (Mindestsicherung). If two thirds of our 75 students (50 people) enter the job market, we save the state approximately €2.5 million over the next 5 years.
As of September 2017, eleven students had started an apprenticeship (zero drop-outs), eight more had a preliminary apprenticeship contract and would be able to begin as soon as their asylum application had been granted. Six were attending secondary schools and a 10 further companies wanted to hire the students once their asylum application had been granted.