Social assistance: Lack of education is a poverty risk

(© Image: Unsplash) - More than half of adult welfare recipients do not have a recognized vocational qualification. A lack of education is a significant risk of poverty, as a survey of 33 cities shows. Today, municipal social services already provide individualized education for welfare recipients. However, the cities recognize significant obstacles to providing sustainable education for welfare recipients, such as access restrictions for scholarships or regulations regarding foreign nationals. On behalf of the Städteinitiative Sozialpolitik, the Bern University of Applied Sciences surveyed 33 municipal social services about educational measures in social assistance. All social services agree on educational goals when their clients have educational deficits. Low-threshold educational measures such as language courses are very often facilitated.