Empowering refugees: The role of comprehensive training programs in labor market integration

Given the increase in global refugee and migration flows and the severe labor shortages in host countries, actively helping refugees enter the labor market constitutes a critical need. Targeted training programs for refugees can potentially improve labor market and social integration. Using a quasi-experimental approach, we investigate a comprehensive Swiss IT and coding bootcamp that combines occupational skills training with workplace-based cultural skills training (i.e., implicit skills that can be learned only through work experience). By matching individual survey data with detailed records from the program application process, we compare the labor market and social integration outcomes of program applicants around the admission threshold. We show that program participation significantly improves labor market outcomes compared to non-participation within the first three years after program graduation. Our results provide valuable insights for policymakers designing refugee integration policies, showing that training programs that complement high-demand technical skills with workplace-based cultural skills training effectively improve refugees' labor market outcomes. While previous research has largely examined broader, low-skilled training programs, we provide the first evidence on the effectiveness of specialized high-skill training programs for refugees. These programs not only help alleviate critical skill shortages but also facilitate refugees' broader economic and social integration into host countries.