Overall, the different types of courses offer heterogeneous groups of participants good opportunities to further develop their linguistic and social integration. On the other hand, job-related German language support only partially achieves the desired effects in terms of labour market integration in the period of up to 30 months after the start of a vocational language course. During the language acquisition phase, vocational language courses, which are usually full-time programmes, can only be combined with gainful employment to a limited extent. Even after completing the course, former participants are less likely to be employed than comparable non-participants during the observation period.
Overall, the different types of courses offer heterogeneous groups of participants good opportunities to further develop their linguistic and social integration. On the other hand, job-related German language support only partially achieves the desired effects in terms of labour market integration in the period of up to 30 months after the start of a vocational language course. During the language acquisition phase, vocational language courses, which are usually full-time programmes, can only be combined with gainful employment to a limited extent. Even after completing the course, former participants are less likely to be employed than comparable non-participants during the observation period.
Six recommendations could be derived from the results of the evaluation based on a participant survey, which could contribute to a better effectiveness of the program or the successor program "Ausbildungswege NRW": Firstly, the target group should be sharpened; secondly, the providers should be empowered to do more public relations work; thirdly, individual support needs of the participants should be identified and ensured; fourthly, internships in the matching phase should be strengthened; fifthly, the empowerment of the participants should be promoted; and sixthly, more intensive and continuous support should be ensured during the duration of the program.
The NRW training program ran from 2018 to 2022 and provided funding for around 1,000 additional training places per year for young people with placement barriers in 34 cities and districts in North Rhine-Westphalia where the training market situation was unfavourable.
Mario Bossler, Nicole Gürtzgen, Erik-Benjamin Börschlein, Jan Simon Wiemann
Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns auf Betriebe und Unternehmen.
IAB-Forschungsbericht, 09/2022, Nürnberg, 224 S., Anhang. https://doi.org/10.48720/IAB.FB.2209
Why a labour market boom does not necessarily bring down inequality: putting together Germany's inequality puzzle
Fiscal Studies, February 2022, Vol. 43, 121-149, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-5890.12294