Educational inclusion or inequality? Opportunities and barriers for refugees with a temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training in the German vocational education and training system

ABSTRACT

This article examines the legal novelty of the so-called ‘Ausbildungsduldung’ (temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training) in Germany. Since research on this topic is still sparse, the current article analyses the impact of toleration status on training trajectories of young refugees. These trajectories are strongly linked to the completion of vocational training and thus successful integration achievements. The impact of a temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training on educational trajectories was assessed using interviews. The results indicate that refugees’ training is hampered by numerous challenges and stressors. Moreover, refugees with a temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training are subjected to further restrictions resulting from their limited juridical capital. Hence, refugees’ tolerated status might directly influence or even impede numerous levels of the training process. Thus, refugees with a tolerated status complete their training under unequal social and legal conditions.

KEYWORDS:

• VET in Germany
• refugees, integration
• temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training
• qualitative research design

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Currently these are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ghana, Kosovo, Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro, Senegal, and Serbia as well as the member states of the EU (see Section 29a and Annex II of the German Asylum Act).

2. People from countries of origin with a protection rate higher than 50% have a fair chance to stay in Germany (BAMF 2019). In 2022, this applies to Eritrea, Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan (BAMF 2022b). However, this decision is not clearly defined in legal terms and rather represents a political construct that is subject to change (as can be seen, for example, in the case of Afghanistan, which changed from poor to good prospects to remain).

3. The interviews with refugee trainees were conducted in German. For this article, the interview quotes are translated into English. Since the interviewees are still language learners, the quotes in German are not always grammatically and orthographically correct. Due to the direct translation into English, some errors may be included because the quotes were not edited in order to preserve authenticity.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the German Research Foundation under Grant WE 7027/1-1.

Notes on contributors

Katharina Wehking

Katharina Wehking is currently working in the department of Vocational Education and Training at the Osnabrück University. In her research she focuses on interdisciplinary questions of educational participation and inequality at the intersection of migration and (vocational and higher) education research. In 2019 she has finished her PHD about career choices of young refugees in Germany. Her research interests are: migration and refugee studies, diversity and inequalities in higher and vocational education.