Refugees with residency permits in the Netherlands are finding it difficult to balance work with compulsory integration courses, and as a result, few have jobs in the years following their approval to stay, the Telegraaf reported on Thursday.

One year after being granted a permit, 25% of men and just 10% of women have a job, and these are often “part-time jobs in cleaning or hospitality,” the paper said, citing figures from the national statistics agency CBS.

The integration programme launched in 2021 was designed to help new arrivals combine compulsory language lessons with work. However, the number of refugees holding jobs is now lower than before the system was amended, according to researchers from Regioplan, an advisory group that works with local councils on implementing policy.

The Regioplan research involved surveying thousands of refugees with residency permits about their work and integration. Currently, around 100,000 people in the Netherlands are required to undergo the official integration process, most of whom have 2.5 years to complete the courses and pass the required tests.

Refugees without jobs are entitled to welfare benefits while going through the inburgering process, and nine out of 10 claimed the benefits in their first year, the CBS figures show. By the second year, the number of claims dropped to 63% for men and 70% for women.

Combining work and inburgering is a struggle for many, Regioplan said. “This is mainly due to the intensity of the lessons and the lack of any connection between the lessons and work.”

Some refugees are forced to give up their jobs because the lessons coincide with their working hours. Others are required to do voluntary work rather than paid work as part of the programme.

Many refugees say they would have preferred to start the process earlier, and two-thirds say refugee centres should offer more Dutch lessons.

There are also long waiting lists for people wanting to start a course, meaning that some “lose their ambition if they have to wait too long,” Regioplan said.

The local authorities’ association VNG warned last week that without more government funding, it will not be possible to offer new arrivals a “proper” integration process, De Telegraaf reported. “And we worry this means that integration and participation in society will worsen,” it quoted the VNG as saying.