Austria Wants to Accelerate the Integration of Displaced Persons into the Labor Market
The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) and the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF/AIF) want to accelerate the integration of Ukrainians into the labor market. A letter will be sent to displaced persons encouraging them to contact ÖIF and AMS in order to find employment.
A letter will be sent to displaced persons from Ukraine urging them to actively contact ÖIF and AMS when looking for work. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons; Pakkin Leung, CC BY 4.0
After it was already decided in January 2023 that the right of residence for people displaced from Ukraine will be extended by one year and granted until March 2024, the new "Blue Cards" for Ukrainian displaced persons could now be sent by the Austrian State Printing Office. Together with the mailing of the Blue Cards, an information leaflet of the Public Employment Service (AMS) and the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) is being issued, urging displaced persons to actively contact the AMS and ÖIF when looking for a job, to accelerate the integration of Ukrainians into the labor market.
According to Integration Minister Susanne Raab, Ukrainian refugees have already been supported "unbureaucratically with various measures such as German courses and mobile service points". Labor market integration is now central to an independent life in Austria, according to Raab.
The labor market currently offers numerous opportunities. According to Raab, support will of course continue here, for example with career platforms that directly link displaced persons and companies looking for personnel. However, the decisive factor for integration is above all people's own initiative, according to Raab. This is to be stimulated with the active call from AMS and ÖIF in the course of sending out the Blue Card.
With the elimination of the employment permit, less bureaucracy and even faster access to the labor market is achieved and Ukrainians are given employment prospects. This is a relief for domestic employment and business location, especially because of the demand for labor and skilled workers. In the future, the AMS will provide even more support to displaced persons from Ukraine in taking up employment, according to Minister of Labor and Economic Affairs Martin Kocher.
So far, 20,055 employment permits have been issued to people with the residence status of "displaced persons," of which 12,783 are upright. In addition, 7,496 displaced persons are registered with the AMS. To date, more than 92,000 displaced persons have been registered and more than 100,000 "blue cards" have been issued. Currently, more than 54,000 war-displaced persons are in basic care.