Stay or leave? How the right advice is helping people build a future for themselves

Should they stay in their home countries, return home from abroad or migrate to Germany? Migration advisory centres, such as those in the Balkan states, the Maghreb and West Africa, provide young people in particular with information about work and training opportunities – giving them a new sense of direction. 

In many developing countries and emerging economies, the state of the job market is unstable. A poor economic situation, high unemployment and inadequate vocational training systems are hampering people's future prospects, especially young people. Many see migration as the only way out – in part because most of them are not aware of the training and work opportunities they actually already have at home.

Many young people from the Balkan states, the Maghreb and West Africa are drawn to West Europe in their search for a better future – and Germany is often their favoured destination. But it is not easy to succeed here. Anyone who comes via irregular channels has virtually no chance of being allowed to stay. And to get a work permit, people generally need to speak the language. However, in their home countries, they often lack sufficient access to information about official entry requirements.

Information is needed on job and training opportunities at home 

And this is where migration advisory centres offer assistance. They are operated by the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) – a joint initiative of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the German Federal Employment Agency’s International Placement Office (ZAV/BA). On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), CIM operates the specialist advisory centres in cooperation with the national employment agencies in a range of countries, for example Albania, Kosovo and Tunisia.

And that's where German information centres comes in. Together with ZAV/BA, the centres organise job and career fairs where employers can recruit skilled workers and trainees. In May 2016, for example, some 1,200 vacancies were on offer on one single day at a fair in Pristina which was organised by one of the local centres. The event was a great success, with 430 people being able to sign a job contract on the spot.

To assist the local employment agencies to better coordinate supply and demand, the centres also advise on the professionalisation of careers and training guidance services. In rural areas especially, this often proves a challenge. In cooperation with employment agencies and vocational schools, the centres organise Information Days on site. Mobile teams of advisors put on smaller-scale information events in remote regions, travelling to market squares and youth centres to talk to jobseekers about the opportunities that await them.

Last updated: July 2018