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IMMIGRATION

Denmark announces extension of refugee apprenticeship programme

The government and private sector representatives have agreed the extension of a scheme in which refugees are provided short-term jobs and training at apprentice salary levels.

Published: 25 February 2019 16:07 CET
Denmark announces extension of refugee apprenticeship programme
Unrelated file photo. Christian Als/Ritzau Scanpix

The IGU (integrationsgrunduddannelse) scheme, which was introduced in 2016, aims to help refugees to access the Danish labour market.

People on the scheme are paid a salary of 50 to 120 kroner (€6.70 to €16) an hour for up to two years. The refugees also take part in skill development or education courses of up to 20 weeks.

Refugees and people with residency via family reunification, who are between the ages of 18 and 40 and have lived in Denmark for less than five years are eligible.

The scheme has previously been criticised by the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party and also arguably conflicts with the so-called ‘paradigm shift’ bill, voted through by parliament last week, which reflects a government change in policy on asylum.

A key aspect of the recent bill is its shift in focus from integration to future repatriation in Denmark’s approach to those who are granted refuge in the country.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s parliament passes 'paradigm change' asylum bill

Nevertheless, the IGU scheme, which has seen 1,860 agreements reached between employers and refugees since its inception, has now been extended until June 2022, the Ministry for Immigration and Integration announced via a press release on Monday.

The agreement was reached between the government and trade organisations including union representative Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation (FH), the Confederation of Danish Employers (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, DA) and Local Government Denmark (Kommunernes Landsforening, KL).

Minister for Immigration and Integration Inger Støjberg has previously spoken in support of the IGU programme.

“Even though many more newly-arrived refugees have entered employment since the tripartite agreement in 2016, many refugees remain outside of the jobs market. I am therefore pleased that we have, today, reached a very good agreement with labour market representatives to extend the IGU, which is a stepping stone to the jobs market for many,” Støjberg said in the press statement.

“The scheme is a very good resource, which helps to make more refugees self-sufficient so that they can contribute to society on equal terms with everyone else for as long as they are here,” the minister added.

Labour market organisations also praised the scheme in comments included in the ministry press release.

“The IGU is, for many refugees and families, the first step towards being on the labour market under normal conditions – exactly as we hoped. Furthermore, I am pleased to see extra resources provided for better Danish language lessons and for the extension of the IGU period in instances of parental leave or illness,” FH chairperson Lizette Risgaard said.

The scheme is aimed at refugees and others granted residency under Danish family reunification rules who are not yet considered to be ready for employment under normal wage and employment regulations, the ministry writes in the press statement.

It had been due to expire this year after being approved for a three-year trial period in 2016.

READ ALSO: Refugee apprentice scheme a success, Danish immigration minister says

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CRIME

Germany mulls expulsions to Afghanistan after knife attack

Germany said Tuesday it was considering allowing deportations to Afghanistan, after an asylum seeker from the country injured five and killed a police officer in a knife attack.

Published: 4 June 2024 14:50 CEST
Germany mulls expulsions to Afghanistan after knife attack

Officials had been carrying out an “intensive review for several months… to allow the deportation of serious criminals and dangerous individuals to Afghanistan”, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told journalists.

“It is clear to me that people who pose a potential threat to Germany’s security must be deported quickly,” Faeser said.

“That is why we are doing everything possible to find ways to deport criminals and dangerous people to both Syria and Afghanistan,” she said.

Deportations to Afghanistan from Germany have been completely stopped since the Taliban retook power in 2021.

But a debate over resuming expulsions has resurged after a 25-year-old Afghan was accused of attacking people with a knife at an anti-Islam rally in the western city of Mannheim on Friday.

A police officer, 29, died on Sunday after being repeatedly stabbed as he tried to intervene in the attack.

Five people taking part in a rally organised by Pax Europa, a campaign group against radical Islam, were also wounded.

Friday’s brutal attack has inflamed a public debate over immigration in the run up to European elections and prompted calls to expand efforts to expel criminals.

READ ALSO: Tensions high in Mannheim after knife attack claims life of policeman

The suspect, named in the media as Sulaiman Ataee, came to Germany as a refugee in March 2013, according to reports.

Ataee, who arrived in the country with his brother at the age of only 14, was initially refused asylum but was not deported because of his age, according to German daily Bild.

Ataee subsequently went to school in Germany, and married a German woman of Turkish origin in 2019, with whom he has two children, according to the Spiegel weekly.

Per the reports, Ataee was not seen by authorities as a risk and did not appear to neighbours at his home in Heppenheim as an extremist.

Anti-terrorism prosecutors on Monday took over the investigation into the incident, as they looked to establish a motive.

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