Supporting prospective returnees with preparatory measures

Context

Displaced persons and migrants who would like to return to their country of origin often face many challenges that can make returning harder. These include structural barriers such as a lack of public structures or difficult socio-economic conditions in the countries of origin. Individual circumstances such as insufficient training, poor employability and psychosocial distress also make it harder for returnees to participate in society and the economy. All these factors make returning less appealing.

Objective

Through participating in preparatory return measures, prospective returnees are better prepared for the labour market in their country of origin and can reintegrate more easily.

Approach

Together with its cooperation partner Social Impact gGmbH, the project supports displaced persons and migrants who are interested in starting a business in their country of origin.

It establishes training opportunities with a modular structure for the target group in the four major German metropolitan regions of Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich. These opportunities are offered both on-site at the locations and through mobile advice at reception centres in the metropolitan regions.

The priority areas of the preparatory return measures are:

• Assessing and analysing professional and personal skills to identify individual needs
• Group training sessions and personalised advice on entrepreneurship
• Ongoing support from social workers
• Help with reintegration in the countries of origin after return
• Developing cross-border information and communications technology to support and communicate on the whole process

Last update: August 2023