Work and safety: Embassy to present results of survey among Ukrainians to German authorities
The Embassy of Ukraine in Germany plans to present the findings of a recent survey conducted among Ukrainian asylum seekers to the Federal Ministry of the Interior and relevant ministries in 16 federal states.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Oleksii Makeiev said this in a comment to Ukrinform.
"We have recently conducted a survey, which we plan to present soon to the Ministry of the Interior and interior ministers of all federal states to show the current situation, for example, concerning the safety of Ukrainian asylum seekers," the ambassador said.
He added that the findings also include employment information. This topic raises many questions in Germany, where the percentage of asylum seekers who have found employment is relatively low, according to the media.
The ambassador said that the Ukrainian side is comprehensively addressing the issue. Sociological data show that it is difficult to expect women with young children to work in a situation where there are not enough places in kindergartens.
"This is a complex problem, and I urged all parties to avoid politicizing the issue of employment," the diplomat said.
He noted that the number of businesses opened by Ukrainians is quite large, as can be seen in Berlin, where there are Ukrainian coffee shops, photo studios, beauty salons, etc.
"Germans are unaware of the fact that we are an entrepreneurial nation. Many people want to start their own businesses, but job centers are not ready for this. And politicians themselves acknowledge that Germany has not done enough to attract business to job centers to offer more professional work opportunities," said Makeiev.
The ambassador reassured that the work is ongoing, albeit not as quick as initially anticipated. However, new problems are being identified that need to be addressed, and the Embassy is pointing them out to the German side. "It's a two-way path. We are getting closer to each other," the diplomat summarized.
According to official data, as of April 2024, there were 855,415 working-age Ukrainian citizens (aged 15 to 65) in Germany, including 541,927 women.