The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) helps people to find a job and provides advice on all related issues.
Local employment agencies (Agentur für Arbeit) can be found in many towns and cities, and can be recognised from this logo:
Bundesagentur für Arbeit
Photo: Bundesagentur für Arbeit
If you have questions, please contact the local employment agency in the place where you are currently staying. You can find the address by using the “Find Office” search option (Dienststellensuche).
You can call the Federal Employment Agency’s hotline on +49 911-178 7915 to ask initial questions in Ukrainian or Russian about getting a job, beginning vocational training or starting to study at university. You can contact the hotline from 8.00 to 16.00 hrs from Monday to Thursday, and 8.00 to 13.00 hrs on Fridays.
The Federal Employment Agency will subsequently advise you, during a personal interview, about the conditions for getting a job and your general professional options.
If you want to look for a job directly, you can find vacancies using the Federal Employment Agency’s job search site.
If you have applied for money at a jobcentre, you will receive advice on issues relating to finding a job, placement and qualifications from your personal adviser at the jobcentre. The jobcentre can support you in achieving your professional goals with activation and integration services. Please contact your adviser to discuss what support and assistance is possible and necessary.
Further information can be found here.
Ukrainians who have fled their country can take up employment immediately in one of several hundred occupations if they have been granted a residence permit in accordance with section 24 Residence Act or a provisional residence document which also grants the right to work (statement “Erwerbstätigkeit erlaubt”). This applies to the so-called non-regulated professions, for example office manager, or for academic professions such as biologist, chemist or mathematician.
However, recognition is mandatory for employment in a regulated profession. Regulated professions are protected by law, for example in the care and healthcare sectors and in education. They include healthcare professions such as medical doctor and nurse as well as teachers and educators. The regulated professions also include legally protected professional titles (e.g. engineer), certificates and proof of expertise in a few self-employment contexts and advanced qualifications such as the German Meister or Fachwirt.
Information about whether a recognition procedure is necessary, what documents are needed and about other opportunities is available in several languages on the official “Recognition in Germany” portal of the German Federal Government.
Should you have gone through professional work training in Ukraine, then the BQ-Portal will help you with sorting out your degree. Further, you will be provided with a detailed description of your work degree which you can use for the acknowledgement procedure.
Counselling and support is provided free of charge, for example at the advisory offices of the funding programme “Integration through Qualification”. Go to Counselling search on the “Recognition in Germany” website to find an advisory office near you. The “Working and Living in Germany” hotline provides answers to questions about entry into the country, residence, job search and German language classes. It also provides an initial consultation about the recognition of professional qualifications. The hotline can be reached Monday – Friday from 8.00 to 18.00 (CET) on: +49 30 1815 – 1111.
A Statement of Comparability can be helpful for holders of a foreign university degree when applying for a job in a non-regulated profession. The Statement of Comparability is an official document certifying the quality of your higher education qualification. It describes your degree and the possibilities of using it for professional and academic purposes. Applications for a Statement of Comparability can be submitted to the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) at the Secretariat of the Standing Conference of Länder Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) Information about the application process for a Statement of Comparability is available in German, English and Ukrainian.
You can apply for recognition in Germany if you have gained school leaving or professional qualifications abroad. See here for FAQs about the recognition of foreign professional qualifications in Germany and other topics. Key information has been compiled in this flyer in German, English and Ukrainian.
The ESF federal program "Strong in the work place – Migrant mothers get on board" of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs aims to make it easier for this target group to start working. It includes courses and coaching for immigrant mothers on gainful employment, learning the language, and recognition of qualifications. It also helps with finding jobs or internships and with compatibility questions - at 85 locations nationwide. If necessary, support can also be provided by Russian-speaking language mediators.
Job offers and job portals
In order to find a job, you can use job portals that publish job offers. Please, inform yourself about what portals you can find suitable jobs for your professional field on. The following links lead you to a range of public and commercial job portals. Please note that this is not an official offer from the side of the federal government.