German army trains Syrians to rebuild homeland

The German army announced a pilot project on Thursday to help Syrian refugees learn crucial reconstruction skills for rebuilding their homeland. Supported by Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and the head of the Federal Labor Agency, Frank-Jürgen Weise, the program will see up to 120 asylum seekers at a time trained in civil engineering, construction and sanitation.

"It is the kind of contribution to integration we can afford refugees," said von der Leyen, adding that when the conflict in Syria is over the country will require "more than just new stones, it will take people with confidence and diverse skills."

Even if the refugees do not return home, the minister continued, they will have acquired abilities useful to the German job market.

Refugees ready to work

This is a particularly pressing matter, as 70 percent of Germany's hundreds of thousands of refugees are of working age and able-bodied. Indeed, some have hoped that the recent wave of asylum seekers may help to solve Germany's labor shortages as the population ages and the birth rate declines.

The Syrians will be trained in a series of three 12-week courses taking place across Germany. So far, the military has only found 45 suitable candidates, though they hope to increase the number of participants in the near future.

Von der Leyen said her only misgiving was the lack of women in the course. As of yet, everyone who has signed up for the program is male.

"We are specifically looking for young women," to join up, said the defense minister.

Frank-Jürgen Weise was highly optimistic, saying that he believes somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of Germany's refugees could benefit from the scheme.

es/kms (AFP, Reuters, dpa)