Labour Market Integration of Refugee Health Professionals in Germany: Challenges and Strategies

Abstract

Refugee health professionals are a vulnerable group in a host country's labour market as they experience several barriers on their path to labour market integration. This study aims to identify challenges refugee health professionals and their supervisors experience at their workplaces and strategies they have developed to overcome these barriers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with refugee health professionals who have been living in Germany for an average of four years and their supervisors (n = 24). The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Nine themes were identified: (1) recognition of qualifications, (2) language competencies, (3) differing healthcare systems, (4) working culture, (5) challenges with patients, (6) challenges with team members, (7) emotional challenges, (8) discrimination and ( 9) exploitation. Results indicate the need to implement structural changes in order to improve the labour market experiences of refugee health professionals. BACKGROUNDThe global healthcare workforce is facing skilled labour shortage. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates a global shortage of 14.5 million health professionals by 2030 (World Health Organization, 2006). The European Commission estimates a shortfall of 1 million health workers in Europe by 2020 (European Commission, 2012), and employment agencies in Germany predict a nationwide lack of health professionals (Bundesagentur f€ ur Arbeit, 2018). In order to address this shortage, nearly all European countries depend on the recruitment of foreign-trained health professionals (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2017). Another strategy that has been implemented by the German government to address this shortage is the so-called "activation of domestic potential" (Bundesregierung, 2018). With that, the German government aims to address those groups that have difficult access to the labour market, such as refugees in order to improve their employability and use them to fill shortages (Bundesregierung, 2018). As the number of refugees in Germany has increased since 2015, the German government has recognized the need to address their labour market integration (Bundesregierung, 2016). However, refugees belong to a particularly vulnerable group in the labour market facing unemployment or underemployment (Tanay et al., 2016).

English skills and early labour market integration: Evidence from humanitarian migrants in Australia

“…Although the migration literature has indicated some possible pathways that link language to employment, it has not yet identified mechanisms or mediators to interpret how language skills can influence employment outcomes. Despite being mostly untested, migration scholars have suggested that psychological capital and resources (Newman et al, 2018a;Newman et al, 2018b;Xu et al, 2019), societal and cultural adaptability (Ravasi et al, 2015;Ryan et al, 2008), the experience of discrimination (Khan Gökkaya & Mösko, 2020;Koopmans, 2016;Syed & Murray, 2009), perceived (in)ability in matching occupational requirements (McCoy & Masuch, 2007), and health and wellbeing (Steel et al, 2015) may have a significant impact. This stream of literature underscores three critical categories of potential mechanisms, including personal psychological resources, health, and contextual/social experiences.…”

Introduction “Labour market integration of highly skilled refugees in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands”

“…Their research, however, shows considerable differences among Syrians in the Netherlands in terms of educational attainment, work experience before arrival, family situation and age. The authors call on policymakers to pay attention to individual needs, echoing other authors in this special issue (Ghorashi, 2020;Khan-Gökkaya & Mösko, 2020;Mozetič, 2020).…”

“…These structural changes will be necessary to address institutional bias against highly skilled refugees in the labour market, the workplace and society at large. Khan-Gökkaya and Mösko (2020) highlight diversity management as a promising tool to create an inclusionary environment in the workplace. Institutional leaders and supervisors could use these tools to examine their own perspectives on diversity and to engage in discussions about diversity in the workplace.…”

“…These have become "natural" and taken-for-granted terms in debates about refugees' participation in the labour market, and they inform policies and have real outcomes on refugees' lives. Khan-Gökkaya and Mösko (2020) argue that the focus on refugees' "failed" labour market integration divert attention from institutional structures and power asymmetries that contribute to these outcomes.…”

“…Access to the recognition process poses an additional hurdle to getting one's prior learning assessed. It may be difficult for migrants to obtain information about the recognition process, and they may have to navigate unclear and complex bureaucratic procedures (Khan‐Gökkaya & Mösko, 2020; Sommer, 2021). In addition, they may not know how to present their competences in the application for recognition (Andersson, 2020).…”