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Professional Information on the Program, Target Group, and Potential Collaboration
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Integration through Training – IdA
A Bridge to Vocational Training, Employment and Participation in Society
Provide direction. Strengthen skills. Shape transitions.
For people with a refugee background, establishing themselves in Germany and developing a career perspective is a key step towards independence, participation and a sustainable future. At the same time, this journey is often complex: career goals, educational pathways, language skills, residence status, contact with public authorities and personal circumstances are closely interconnected.
Integration through Training – IdA addresses this very intersection. The project provides holistic support to people with a refugee background as they establish themselves professionally and socially, develop realistic pathways forward and build a sustainable future in Germany.
The focus is not simply on quickly placing participants in employment or training, but on developing a career or education pathway that matches their skills, circumstances and individual situation and offers a sustainable long-term perspective.
Holistic Support Instead of Isolated Placement
Successful labour market integration rarely happens through a single application or placement step. Many participants face a combination of linguistic, legal, family-related, psychosocial, educational and practical day-to-day challenges. These factors can directly affect career decisions, application processes, further training, vocational training and employment.
IdA therefore takes a holistic approach to labour market integration. The project brings together career guidance, skills assessment, training and career pathway planning, application coaching, transition management and social-pedagogical support as part of a comprehensive support programme. Depending on individual needs, this may also include employment-oriented language support, exam preparation, basic digital and IT skills, as well as strengthening social, intercultural and workplace-related competencies.
The aim is to help participants realistically assess their opportunities within Germany’s education, vocational training and labour market systems, identify suitable next steps, and prepare for and successfully navigate transitions into training, employment, education or further qualification.
Target Group and Typical Needs
IdA is aimed at people with a refugee background in the Rhine-Main region who are in the process of professional, social and societal integration and need support in developing realistic pathways forward.
The programme is particularly suited to people whose career or educational pathway in Germany has not yet been clearly established or is affected by linguistic, personal, legal, family-related, psychosocial or systemic factors.
IdA can provide support particularly when participants want to develop a realistic understanding of their career opportunities in Germany, need guidance through the German education, vocational training and labour market systems, want to prepare for career or education transitions, wish to strengthen their language, digital, professional or employment-related skills, or need support with applications, job searches, qualification recognition procedures and dealing with public authorities.
Personal or family-related challenges can also be addressed as part of the support provided when they affect participants’ everyday lives, stability or career pathways. IdA provides a framework that combines professional development with social-pedagogical support and stabilisation.
Professional Approach
IdA takes a strengths-based, person-centred, language-sensitive, social-pedagogical and labour market-oriented approach. The starting point is each participant’s individual circumstances, including their previous education and work experience, existing skills, language proficiency, legal circumstances, personal and family-related challenges, career goals, and the specific requirements of Germany’s education, vocational training and labour market systems.
Based on this, realistic pathways forward are developed and prepared step by step. The aim is not to move people prematurely into just any next step, but to build sustainable pathways through guidance, skills assessment, further training, stabilisation and support during transitions.
The core of the approach lies in combining counselling, education, social-pedagogical support and transition management. The programme helps participants identify their own strengths, broaden their options, better understand requirements, make informed decisions and take concrete steps towards vocational training, employment, school, university, further qualification or continuing education.
At the same time, IdA recognises that professional integration is closely linked to social stability, understanding of the relevant systems, language skills, digital competence and participation in society. The approach therefore focuses not only on placement, but on sustainable transitions, independence and a long-term, viable personal and professional future.
Areas of Development and Support
IdA focuses on key areas of development that are essential for sustainable integration into education, employment and society. Support is tailored to each participant’s individual starting point, educational and professional background, existing skills, and personal, family, linguistic and legal circumstances.
Depending on individual needs, support may include career guidance, skills assessment, individual training and career pathway planning, application coaching, interview preparation, assistance in finding internships, vocational training, employment or further qualifications, as well as support with qualification recognition, dealings with public authorities, residence matters, work permits and other integration-related issues.
In addition, support may include employment-oriented language training, exam preparation, basic computer and IT skills, vocational qualification modules, as well as the development of social, intercultural, digital and employment-related competencies. Where participants face personal, family-related or psychosocial challenges, the support can provide stabilisation and, where needed, facilitate access to appropriate specialist services or further assistance.
Support is not provided according to a fixed formula, but is tailored to each participant’s existing strengths, specific needs and the next appropriate steps in their development.
Multilingual and Language-Sensitive Support
Language barriers are a key factor in the integration process. That is why counselling, guidance and support at IdA are language-sensitive and, where available, provided in multiple languages. The aim is to ensure that important information is understood, requirements can be properly assessed and well-informed decisions can be made.
Available languages include German, English, Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Turkish and Arabic.
Preparing for and Supporting Successful Transitions
A career transition is about more than signing a contract. For people with a refugee background in particular, entering vocational training, employment or further qualification can involve a range of simultaneous challenges, including professional language, vocational school, workplace communication, digital processes, legal matters, mobility, family responsibilities, contact with public authorities and personal pressures.
IdA therefore supports participants not only with guidance and placement, but also in preparing for and stabilising transitions. Career goals, training needs, existing skills and suitable next steps are brought together to ensure that transitions do not happen by chance, but are professionally prepared and supported for the long term.
Impact and Objectives
IdA aims to empower people with a refugee background in their professional, social and personal development. Participants should gain a better understanding of their opportunities, strengthen their existing skills, overcome barriers, build greater confidence in navigating Germany’s education, vocational training and labour market systems, and develop realistic pathways for the future.
Impact is reflected not only in successful placements. It is also evident when people become more confident and capable of taking action, gain a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities, articulate their own goals more clearly, manage application processes more independently, strengthen their digital and language skills, achieve greater stability in challenging circumstances, and take the next step towards participation in society.
Project Information
Status: Ongoing Project
Project Start: 2019
Current Programme Period: 01/01/2026 – 12/31/2026
Target Group: People with a refugee background from the Rhine-Main region
Format: One-to-one counselling, coaching, group sessions, seminars, workshops, specialist modules and career-focused qualification support
Key Areas: Career guidance, skills assessment, training and career pathway planning, social-pedagogical stabilisation, application coaching, transition management, language support, basic computer and IT skills, exam preparation and participation in society
Languages Available for Counselling: German, English, Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Turkish and Arabic
Funding Notice:
The project is funded through the Vocational Training and Qualification Budget (AQB) of the State of Hesse. The Youth and Social Affairs Office of the City of Frankfurt am Main contributes co-financing.
