During the closing session of the seminar “Training for Work”, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho announced that the Integrate program “has already assisted in the integration of almost 50,000 immigrants”.
Launched in September 2024, the program targets immigrants registered at employment centers, offering training activities, competency recognition measures, and job search assistance.
In her speech, the official addressed immigration policies, noting that this presents a current challenge and indicating that “the government’s principle” is to “integrate immigrants with dignity.”
“It’s not about prevention, it’s about regulation to ensure everyone lives better,” she emphasized during the seminar part of Futurália 2025, which begins today in Lisbon, also highlighting the “requirement of employment contracts.”
While underscoring that the government is currently in a caretaker role, which “narrows” what it “can say,” Palma Ramalho also highlighted other programs initiated by the administration focused on labor training.
“Among the developed programs, we have reached around 8,000 young people since October 2024,” she stated.
The Minister of Labor also praised employment figures, noting that Portugal currently has “the highest employment rate ever,” with over five million people employed, and “unemployment is practically negligible.”
“Even youth unemployment, which always concerns us, has fallen by 7.4% compared to December 2023,” she emphasized, adding that it remains “above 20%”.
Referring to “new geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges” facing Europe, with several of Portugal’s trading partners experiencing “recession or economic stagnation,” Palma Ramalho also mentioned the challenges young people face, who “encounter barriers entering the labor market” and often “see immigration as a solution to increase their income,” as well as issues related to population aging and the balance of personal and professional life.
