Introduction

The acronym MAMBA stands for a networking approach to labour market integration earmarked for migrants and asylum seekers in the city and region of Münster in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In the late 2000s, MAMBA was put in place by a non-profit organisation called GGUA (Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft zur Unterstützung Asylsuchender e.V.) located in Münster, which looks back upon a long tradition of providing support and counselling for migrants and asylum seekers. From an organisational point of view, MAMBA translates into an institutionalised cooperation of public, semi-public, commercial and non-profit organisations entrusted with tasks connected to integration and labour market policies. Today, the non-profit organisation that started MAMBA still serves as the key administrative unit of the network, as well as a hotspot for refugees and migrants in search of support such as legal advice or help with administrative paperwork. Since access to the German labour market is highly regulated and many professions require documentary evidence of formal qualifications, migrants, including refugees, are faced with significant difficulties. Moreover, residence laws make the granting of a long-term residence status conditional on employment for some groups of migrants. In order to support these different groups, MAMBA takes an encompassing approach that consists of both individual counselling and legal advice, as well as of active support services with respect to labour market integration in terms of education, apprenticeships, job search and placement. Specifically tailored to migrants and refugees with difficulties in accessing the labour market in Germany, MAMBA is placed at a crossroads of integration and labour market policies and stands out for its innovativeness and sustainable Social Investment in both fields. MAMBA takes an innovative approach to labour market integration by building on a close network of public, business and non-profit actors that are working in the field of labour market and employment policies to best address the needs of the target groups (BEPA, 2010). This creates synergies and builds on the resources of the clients to enhance their access to and participation in the German labour market and society.

MAMBA as a reaction to policy change

Background

Balancing and counteracting the deficiencies of German integration policy constitutes the ‘raison d’etre’ of MAMBA as a locally embedded network supporting migrants and refugees in their efforts to feel at home in Germany.