GENEVA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland is launching a pilot scheme to help refugees and asylum seekers allowed to stay to integrate into the workforce by helping them prepare for apprenticeships, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) announced on Thursday.
The one-year scheme will allow refugees and asylum seekers allowed to stay in the country to prepare for an apprenticeship and make entry easier into the labor market, the SEM said.
Eighteen out of the country's 26 cantons will offer the so-called pre-apprenticeship course for one year to selected refugees and asylum seekers to help with their integration under a system that is renowned for the quality of skilled workers it produces.
The SEM said the scheme is part of the government's efforts to boost the potential of the national workforce.
Under the scheme, participants will work three days a week in a company and acquire the practical, academic and language skills necessary for an apprenticeship.
The program, which has been agreed for a four-year period, should cost 46.8 million Swiss francs (46.8 million U.S. dollars).
SEM will provide co-financing for a maximum of 3,600 places.
The cantonal authorities, which are responsible for providing vocational training, will receive a fixed annual fee of 13,000 U.S. dollars for each training placement.
The scheme will be implemented together with companies, business associations and vocational schools. The cantons are currently recruiting participants and talking to interested companies.
In 2019, the federal authorities will decide whether to renew the program.
