海角大神

When refugees from the Middle East started trickling聽last fall into tranquil, hilly Thuringia, a state in central-eastern Germany, officials in the small town of Zeulenroda聽knew they had to act quickly to prevent anti-migrant sentiments from building.

So instead of waiting for Germany's notoriously bureaucratic culture to process the newcomers, they mobilized the region to聽give refugees the tools to get what they need most to succeed: a long-term job.

That effort has allowed people like Waly Tajik, a young Afghan, to get busy. Today, bent over his work since dawn, he鈥檚 been measuring, slicing, and polishing timber under the guidance of a master joiner as part of a pilot program to guide refugees into vocational training. Without waiting for the go-ahead from the federal government, Mr. Tajik is preparing himself for a spot as a local apprentice, which in Germany represents a foot in the door to secure, well-paid employment.

The Thuringian project and others like it may be nascent, but they offer new opportunities for both refugees and their potential employers. The unusually proactive effort provides refugees a fast track to integration into the economy, and a way to circumvent all-too-common red tape. And for Thuringia, it could fill apprenticeships that have gone empty too frequently to sustain the Mittelstand, Germany's small- and mid-size businesses.

And for Ulrich Mei脽ner, a glazier who took Tajik under his wing for an internship last winter, that could make a big difference. Mr. Mei脽ner says that the refugee's eagerness to learn, punctuality, and reliability bode well for his future. 鈥淚f he keeps at it, he鈥檒l make it.鈥�

From refugee to apprentice

As an ex-communist state,聽Thuringia had little experience with foreigners. But it had assets: before the Berlin Wall fell, the region around Zeulenroda had been a cradle of the furniture-making industry for the entire USSR. Thousands of workers got their practical training at a huge center here; they lived in a nearby boarding house. But in the early 1990s the boarding house closed, and the training center changed its focus to local commerce and industry.

Last fall, Martina Schweinsburg, the region's elected administrator, decided to take advantage of Thuringia's economic expertise and fuse it with the manpower of the refugees. Instead of going through normal 鈥� and frequently slow 鈥� bureaucratic channels, she went herself and knocked on the door of the various agencies dealing with refugees, from the unemployment office to the migration office and the chamber of commerce.

Once she got them together, they were able to agree on a model to connect the newly arrived migrants with some form of vocational training, particularly in the woodwork sector. So instead of waiting of as much as a year for work authorization, the new arrivals were able to get involved in an apprenticeship work within weeks. The first group consisted of 18 Syrians, Eritreans, and Afghans "with a real chance of staying," says Steffen T盲ubert, who worked with Ms. Schweinsburg on the project.

Ultimately, the goal is for refugees like Tajik to commit to three-year contracts. Based on a mixture of self-interest and mutual trust, the deal would include more than just vocational basics. Mei脽ner would commit to educating his young trainee, giving him a small stipend for his work. In exchange, the craftsman could secure his workforce for years to come. Tajik, for his part, would have to commit to working with Mei脽ner while also going to school 鈥� as part of Germany's聽demanding "dual vocational training system," where trainees learn a trade both on the job and in school 鈥� until the apprenticeship ended.

But first, Mei脽ner says, Tajik needs to catch up on language and other skills. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not as though you can just hire a trainee and that鈥檚 it,鈥� he says.

It's a serious commitment. 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about giving refugees a real, long-term work perspective as qualified workers, not as jobbers who make quick money and disappear,鈥� says Mr. T盲ubert. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 say for sure they鈥檒l stay. But even if they don鈥檛, we can鈥檛 wait until their asylum application process is over to start. We have start from the first day they arrive.鈥�

A boost for Germany

The project is not limited to Zeulenroda. From from Cottbus to Munich and Erfurt, new initiatives to connect refugees with hands-on training of a craft or a trade have multiplied rapidly in recent months.

In aging regions like East Thuringia, one motivation is that craftspeople badly need qualified workers. Germany鈥檚 rigorous vocational path is demanding, and apprentices are hard to find these days. More and more, young people lack the skills or the will to find and keep a job during three years of their apprenticeships, says Mei脽ner. The East Thuringia chamber of commerce and industry filled only 735 out of the 1,000 apprenticeship positions available this year. Sixty percent of local businesses here said they鈥檇 be open to hire refugees, according to a local survey.

鈥淚f we expect refugees to be here for the long term,鈥� says Klaus Zimmermann of the Center for European Studies at Harvard University, it's a "chance both for us and for the refugees.鈥�

鈥淎nd if they end up going home and use the training to rebuild their country, it is also good,鈥� he adds.

Experts agree that refugees won't remedy the country's lack of skilled workers. According to studies by education economist Ludger W枚脽mann of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research in Munich, the level of education of young Syrian refugees is much lower than that of their German counterparts. They tend to be older, and, 鈥渁fter all they鈥檝e gone through, the last thing they want is to sit in a classroom forever,鈥� Mr. W枚脽mann says.

He argues that聽the German vocational model should be made less rigorous, thus more accessible, to refugees. 鈥淲e have to get them into jobs after one or two years.鈥�

But even those who disagree about softening Germany's standards for refugees agree that it is essential to get them into the vocational training system.

Hans Peter Wollseifer, president of the Skilled Crafts Organization in Berlin, says that too often, refugees stick with low-paying jobs to send wages home or repay smugglers. 鈥淥dd jobs won't get the refugees anywhere,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e don't need hundreds of thousands of people pushing wheelbarrows; we need skilled people, and lots of them.鈥�

Regardless, the benefits to both refugees like Tajik and employers like Mei脽ner are clear. For Tajik, an apprenticeship with the glazier here could help him stay in a town he says has become 鈥渕y home.鈥�

And for Mei脽ner, Tajik could be the new blood he needs to keep sustain a business that鈥檚 been in the family for 200 years. 鈥淵oung people don鈥檛 want to get their hands dirty, to carry heavy stuff anymore,鈥� he says.