EUROPE-MIGRANTS/TRAINING Berlin initiative aims at training migrants so they can be successful in Germany's labour market

Record ID: 146001

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/TRAINING Berlin initiative aims at training migrants so they can be successful in Germany's labour market
  • Date: 28th July 2015
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (JULY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) TRAINING WORKSHOP VARIOUS OF COURSE PARTICIPANTS WORKING WITH ELECTRIC CABLES AND SWITCHES VARIOUS OF TEACHER WITH COURSE PARTICIPANT COURSE PARTICIPANT WORKING ON A SWITCH VARIOUS OF COURSE PARTICIPANT TAHIR OSMAN MOHAMMAD, MIGRANT FROM CHAD, WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) COURSE PARTICIPANT TAHIR OSMAN MOHAMMAD, MIGRANT FROM CHAD, SAYING: "I heard that skilled trades are very difficult and then I did it for two weeks and thought no problem. I want to do it. I want to learn because there is nothing without a career. I have to learn something." VARIOUS OF TEACHERS WITH COURSE PARTICIPANTS VARIOUS OF PROJECT MANAGER OF THE INITIATIVE FOR BRINGING MIGRANTS ONTO THE BERLIN LABOUR MARKET "ARRIVO BERLIN", ANTON SCHUENEMANN, WITH COURSE PARTICIPANT MOHAMMAD (SOUNDBITE) (German) PROJECT MANAGER OF THE INITIATIVE "ARRIVO BERLIN", ANTON SCHUENEMANN, SAYING: "The economy has a real interest in getting people to do this in order to cushion the already latent shortage in skilled workers which will only worsen in the future. The people who come here have years of experience in particular fields. They at least have huge motivation to make it here and to be integrated into society and to make a contribution. And if they can do that with the help of a company which is looking for them then it is a win-win situation for all those involved." COURSE PARTICIPANT WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) PROJECT MANAGER OF THE INITIATIVE "ARRIVO BERLIN", ANTON SCHUENEMANN, SAYING: "And the biggest problem is that if you go into training or have a contract for work, then that does not stop them from being deported. This means that Germany is still prepared to deport a tax payer from this country, because they think that that person will be better off in their country of origin. And that is of course a big problem that the economy has which is why they want secure conditions. Because it is totally logical: if a company trains someone then they are investing in that person." COURSE PARTICIPANT WORKING ON SWITCH (SOUNDBITE) (German) PROJECT MANAGER OF THE INITIATIVE "ARRIVO BERLIN", ANTON SCHUENEMANN, SAYING: "That is the main criticism for me about the politics, that they are very clearly following a strategy which makes it as unsexy as possible for people to come to Germany, instead of giving the people who are here the chance to have some kind of perspective and to support them to become a part of society." VARIOUS OF MOHAMMAD WITH TEACHER (SOUNDBITE) (German) COURSE PARTICIPANT TAHIR OSMAN MOHAMMAD, MIGRANT FROM CHAD, SAYING: "It is not easy but I want to learn, to carry on. I hope I will have a job next year or the year after." COURSE PARTICIPANTS WORKING RED LIGHT VIEW INSIDE WORKSHOP
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9X9WKKFT0ZP8O87OSIFPX53C0
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: An initiative in Berlin is working to give migrants arriving in the German capital the best chance at finding work and settling into the country.
    "Arrivo Berlin" is a project set up between the Berlin local authorities and the local Chamber of Skilled Crafts and is aimed at achieving professional integration for people who have fled their own countries and travelled to Germany in search of a better - and often safer - life.
    The initiative brings together interested local companies who are looking for either trainees or employees on the one hand, and migrants, many of whom bring with them specific trade skills, on the other.
    Arrivo Berlin then organises placements, training and even language programmes to get the migrants up to speed on German standards and the local way of working in order to prepare them for a possible job with one of the companies involved.
    On Tuesday (July 28), several migrants were taking part in an electrical class in a workshop in Berlin.
    One of those attending the course was 25-year-old Tahir Osman Mohammad, who came to Germany from Chad.
    He and his family left Chad years ago, he said, and then lived in Libya until 2012 before he fled across the Mediterranean and ultimately asked for asylum in Germany.
    He says he wanted to get involved so he could find a job in Germany and be successful.
    "I heard that skilled trades are very difficult and then I did it for two weeks and thought no problem. I want to do it. I want to learn because there is nothing without a career. I have to learn something," he told Reuters TV in fluent German.
    The head of the initiative Arrivo Berlin said that training migrants to work up to German standards could only be seen as something positive taking into account the country's ageing population.
    Especially in Berlin there is a lack of skilled workers and trainees, so Arrivo Berlin is trying to fill these gaps with migrants who have the expertise.
    "The economy has a real interest in getting people to do this in order to cushion the already latent shortage in skilled workers which will only worsen in the future. The people who come here have years of experience in particular fields. They at least have huge motivation to make it here and to be integrated into society and to make a contribution. And if they can do that with the help of a company which is looking for them then it is a win-win situation for all those involved," Anton Schuenemann said.
    But, he added, that getting their hands on a contract for work did not mean necessarily that migrants were given the all clear to stay in Germany.
    "The biggest problem is that if you go into training or have a contract for work, then that does not stop them from being deported. This means that Germany is still prepared to deport a tax payer from this country, because they think that that person will be better off in their country of origin. And that is of course a big problem that the economy has which is why they want secure conditions. It is totally logical. If a company trains someone then they are investing in that person," Schuenemann said.
    He added that German authorities "are very clearly following a strategy which makes it as unsexy as possible for people to come to Germany, instead of giving the people who are here the chance to have some kind of perspective and to support them to become a part of society."
    For someone like Mohammad, learning a trade is a real challenge, but one that he says he is willing to face.
    "It is not easy but I want to learn, to carry on. I hope I will have a job next year or the year after," Mohammad said.
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