More than 3,000 asylum seekers find jobs

Some 3,000 asylum seekers have obtained jobs amid keen interest to fill vacant positions in the labour market, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Tuesday.

And as of January 17, a total of 1,319 applications to hire registered unemployed have been submitted through the five incentive schemes opened by the labour ministry for a total of 1,450 positions, the labour ministry’s Alexandros Alexandrou said.

Asylum seekers do not qualify for the incentives’ schemes offered to employers. But the labour ministry does vet that contracts for asylum seekers to check terms are in lines with those offered to local employees and there is no exploitation.

Jobs can be offered only for sectors of the economy covered by the labour minister’s decree. Applications are checked every Friday, and so far, more than 3,000 asylum seekers have been employed, he added.

As regards the incentives schemes to put the unemployed in jobs, Alexandrou said that the ministry has earmarked €14.5m. The aim is for 1,450 registered unemployed to find jobs. Up until January 17, the ministry had received 1,319 applications.

Some of the schemes are close to being completed, such as that for people aged 15 to 19 where the €2.5m budget has been covered. Funds from one scheme can be transferred to another if not used.

Alexandrou said that the scheme to employ 200 released prisoners had received only 32 applications, whereas the scheme for 100 individuals with longstanding ailments had attracted only 11 applications and that for disabled individuals where the target was again for 100 spots had seen a trickle of eight applications.