Head of Social Affairs Martin Wilhelm criticizes plans to support young unemployed people

The news has caught all municipalities, job centers and the Federal Employment Agency unprepared. It is not only in the 2024 financial year that major financial cuts to the Citizen's Allowance are to be expected; from 1 January 2025, responsibility for advising young people and young adults under the age of 25 is to be transferred from the job center to the Federal Employment Agency. However, the financial benefits for living expenses are to continue to be financed by the job center - or, depending on how it is structured, partly with supplementary financial benefits from the job center through the future basic child benefit.

In this way, the Federal Minister of Labor wants to save the federal government 900 million euros in taxpayers' money in 2025 and use social security funds for labor market integration. The aim of this purely financial policy decision is to reduce the federal government's new debt.

The plan has been heavily criticized not only by the municipal umbrella associations and the federal network of job centers, but also by the Hessian heads of social affairs. They are all urgently appealing to federal politicians to take into account the labor market and social policy arguments in their financial planning and to refrain from changing responsibilities.

Offenbach's City Treasurer and Head of Social Affairs, Martin Wilhelm, also points out that the proposed change of responsibility is only a sensible savings proposal on the surface and in the short term, and justifies this: "The job center has been looking after young people between the ages of 15 and 25 for almost two decades and has thus developed expertise and local networks. Breaking up these structures will have a considerable impact. Many young people who are looked after in the job centers and often grow up in a difficult private environment and have complex support needs require close supervision. The Federal Employment Agency does not yet have the personnel resources, experience or expertise to do this."

Susanne Pfau, Managing Director of MainArbeit. Kommunales Jobcenter Offenbach, points out that many young people in the job centers first need intensive, holistic coaching tailored to their needs and often also special, supportive forms of training or training support before successfully completing school or applying for a job. "The job centers have their own specialized teams for this target group. Together with the young people, they find the right individual measures for them on the sometimes arduous path from leaving school to successful training and sustainable professional integration. They receive close and trusting support from their personal contact partners. Family-centered advice can also be a key to success. None of this is available at the employment agency."

Martin Wilhelm points out that it is not for nothing that the new citizens' allowance, which was adopted six months ago, has strengthened the expansion of holistic advice and associated support services. The aim is to improve equal opportunities for young people in difficult life situations, to allow them to participate as active members of society and thus also to use their existing potential as future and urgently needed workers. He sees these goals as being jeopardized by the change of responsibility: "An essential element of successful integration for disadvantaged young people into the training and labour market is also the close, regional integration, the networks that the job centers have built up over many years with specialized measure providers, employers, welfare associations and other stakeholders. Job centers such as MainArbeit not only offer financial assistance, but also the tailor-made help that is so important for young people from a single source, which would no longer exist in this form."

In 2023, MainArbeit will use 3.3 million euros of the funds made available by the federal government for training preparation, training and other support measures for young people. With a share of around 17 percent of those eligible for benefits, this is 35 percent of the planned federal funding of almost 9.5 million euros.

In a young city like Offenbach, this disproportionate support for the target group is essential. Thirteen funded projects have a training preparation character with a volume of 1.1 million euros. Around 400 young people can benefit from this over the course of the year. In addition, a total of 266 young people will either receive funding for external training or intensive support for in-company training to the tune of 1.9 million euros.

Around 330,000 euros are earmarked for work with young people in the individual districts and for supporting homeless young people or those who do not have sufficient command of the German language. These projects will benefit 80 young people.