Job-related German language courses have been a standard federal instrument since 2016, designed to give immigrants the language skills they need for vocational training and employment. On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, we were responsible within the evaluation consortium for the impact analysis and the economic efficiency assessment. The analysis was based on surveys of participants and a comparison group, supplemented by administrative data from the Federal Employment Agency. The courses improve language skills markedly, most strongly among people aged 35 and over and among recent immigrants, and they lead more often into vocational training or a qualification measure. In the short term, however, the probability of employment falls, because participation ties up time (“locking-in effect”), and this effect persists beyond the end of the course. It does not occur among women, who instead show stronger effects on social integration. The economic efficiency assessment looked at both levels. Implementation proved efficient, with administrative costs consistently between five and seven per cent of total expenditure after the start-up phase. At the level of the measure itself, costs exceed the fiscal benefits in the first three years, which is to be expected for an educational investment with long-term effects and does not argue against the instrument. The consortium derived eleven recommendations for action from the findings.
Additional Information
Baderschneider, A., Bonin, H., Boockmann, B., Caliendo, M., Fischer, A., Gensicke, M., Hecker, K., Hartmann, J., Isphording, I., Krause-Pilatus, A., Kugler, P., Mahlstedt, R., Pabst, C., Pfeiffer, I. & Sackmann, R. (2024): Evaluation der berufsbezogenen Deutschsprachförderung nach § 45a AufenthG. Final report. Research Report 635, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Berlin.
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