Betreuungshelfer/Betreuungshelferin in der Flüchtlingshilfe

Current information and publications are available on migration, recognition of foreign educational qualifications, asylum and migration law, the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration, Diakonie (the social welfare organization of the German Protestant church) as an employer, state refugee councils, integration, migration and social work, and legal guardianship.

Care assistants usually work in common rooms, dormitories, and, if necessary, living areas of reception facilities or asylum seeker homes. They also work in food and clothing distribution points, medical rooms, and office/meeting rooms. They may also work in storage rooms, for example, for clothing and food supplies.

Core competencies required for this profession include daily life support, anti-discrimination counseling, providing information, using simple language, extremism prevention, intercultural communication, using easy language, working with migrants, individual social assistance, and food distribution. Additional competencies that may be important for this profession include Arabic, office and administrative tasks, interpreting, English, French, leisure activity organization, household management, victim and affected person counseling, rescue measures/first aid, Russian, social care, preparing and serving meals, Ukrainian, and augmented communication (AC). The competency group "Person groups" is also relevant.

Care assistants in refugee aid are responsible for the refugees entrusted to them in initial reception facilities and asylum seeker accommodations. During care, regulations such as asylum and residence law must be observed. Working with people often traumatized by war or flight, from different cultural backgrounds, or with unaccompanied minor refugees, requires psychological resilience, intercultural competence, communication skills, and assertiveness, for example, in conflict situations. Care assistants in refugee aid usually work directly in refugee facilities and in training rooms, where they might give German lessons. Administrative tasks are carried out in offices on a computer. They accompany refugees on official errands or doctor's visits and may sometimes have to work in the evenings or on weekends.

No definitive information can be provided regarding earning opportunities for this professional activity. Please check BERUFENET for current information.

This profession is found in various sectors such as social welfare (e.g., asylum seeker reception facilities and homes of welfare organizations, youth social work, services for unaccompanied minor refugees, refugee counseling), public administration (e.g., municipal administrations), religious communities (e.g., diaconal institutions, foundations), and healthcare (e.g., rescue and patient transport services).

A specific educational path is not mandatory. An Ausbildung (vocational training) in social services, medical assistance, or rescue services can be helpful.

Betreuungshelfer and Betreuungshelferinnen (Care Assistants) in refugee aid can find employment with independent welfare and youth assistance organizations, in counseling centers for refugees, in public service (e.g., municipal authorities), with church associations (e.g., foundations, diaconal organizations), and with rescue services.

Betreuungshelfer/in (Refugee Aid). Also a common job title/synonym: Betreuer/in (Caregiver/Counselor) in Migration Work.

An extended police clearance certificate may be required for working with minors. A class B driver's license may be necessary, for example, to travel between workplaces.

Betreuungshelfer and Betreuungshelferinnen in refugee aid support refugees in their daily lives.

Diakonie Deutschland Career Portal, EKD Job Exchange, INFO SOZIAL Job Market, sozialeberufe.de.

Associations and organizations related to this profession include: Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Information Network Asylum and Migration e.V., ver.di - United Services Trade Union.

This profession involves responsibility for individuals (refugees entrusted to care), dealing with people facing problems (e.g., those traumatized by war or flight), and working with children and young people (e.g., unaccompanied minor refugees). Emotionally demanding situations and activities (e.g., dealing with refugees threatened with deportation) and adherence to various regulations and legal provisions (e.g., asylum and residence law) are required. Work takes place in offices (e.g., handling administrative tasks) and in teaching/training rooms (e.g., during German language classes). Frequently changing tasks and work situations (e.g., frequent shifts between teaching, accompanying doctor or authority visits, and personal support in conflict situations) and irregular working hours (care duties also in the evenings or on weekends) can occur.

Work materials include registration lists, applications and forms such as asylum applications, house rules, room plans, and legal provisions like asylum and residence law. Additionally, supplies such as clothes, shoes, food, toys, and office equipment like PCs, internet access, and telephones are used.

Care assistants in refugee aid provide newly arrived refugees with the essentials in emergency shelters, initial reception facilities, or asylum seeker accommodations. They help register newcomers and show them to their rooms or sleeping places. They also support them in managing daily life in the facilities and impart practical everyday skills. They interpret and mediate in conflicts. Care assistants in refugee aid may also be involved in initial medical care in the accommodations. They also support refugees with appointments at authorities or help them fill out applications.

Continuing vocational training helps to keep professional knowledge up-to-date and adapt it to new developments (e.g., in social counseling, conflict management, or adult education).

These tasks include assisting with registration and the allocation of sleeping places or housing, distributing food, clothing, and hygiene articles, helping to cope with daily life while considering cultural and religious aspects, interpreting, mediating in tensions and conflicts, organizing doctor and hospital appointments, potentially assisting with initial medical care and doctor's consultations in the accommodation, accompanying refugees to official appointments, explaining procedures and helping to fill out applications, imparting practical everyday skills, and potentially establishing contacts with the working world.

Legal regulations for this activity are governed by the Act on the Central Register and the Education Register (Bundeszentralregistergesetz - BZRG) in the version published on September 21, 1984 (BGBl. I S. 1229), last amended by Article 5 of the Act of July 19, 2024 (BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 245).