Lately another scandal erupted in the Bundeswehr. This time we are talking about crazy and practically wasted money for “training courses” offered to Syrian migrants.
The four-week courses, which cost 21,000 euros per participant and were held for a total of 217 Syrians, failed. The success rate is amazing: as many as two Syrians have found a permanent job.
In a confidential report from early August, auditors wrote that the program was “uneconomical and inefficient.” 217 migrants took part in four-week training courses that were launched back in 2016 on topics such as technology, crafts and sanitation – for five million euros.
The commensurate programs of the Federal Employment Agency cost about 1800 euros per participant – compared to 21,000 in the Bundeswehr. The reasons for the high costs in the Bundeswehr are planning errors: since the German language was worse than expected among the Syrians, interpreters, whose services cost almost 900,000 euros, were hired.
According to the report, the military and personnel involved in the operation cost a total of 2.4 million euros. In addition, new equipment that was purchased at a site in Oldenburg for more than half a million euros was not allowed to be used by migrants for security reasons.
Already at the end of 2016, the Bundeswehr internal investigation called the project an “unhealthy cost-benefit ratio” and required its demolition. However, the ministry ordered further training for Syrian migrants. According to the results for September 2019, only two out of 217 refugees found permanent work, according to the report of the Accounts Chamber.