The shortage of skilled workers and labor motivates many companies to take on refugees and immigrants for work and training: Sven Giegold, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, and Achim Dercks, Deputy General Manager of the DIHK, recently welcomed the floristry company Christine Floristik as the 4,000th member of the “Companies Integrating Refugees” network.
“More and more companies are hiring people with refugee and immigration backgrounds. This requires a lot of additional commitment and dedication. Their knowledge and experience are valuable for the German economy. The training and employment of people with refugee and immigration backgrounds is a key lever against the labor shortage and also helps with their integration,” said Sven Giegold, adding: “Unfortunately, the procedures for hiring refugees often take too long and are too bureaucratic. That is why the federal government will fundamentally simplify the current labor market rules for refugees, as decided in the growth initiative.”
Achim Dercks, deputy DIHK managing director, emphasized how important the commitment of companies in this area is: “Christine Heuer and her colleague Said Farid Sadat are a very good example of how to successfully integrate people with a refugee background into the labor market. Here, too, it is clear that dual vocational training is a promising and in many cases ideal way to do this – it offers a promising start to working life, facilitates further integration through many interpersonal contacts and enables companies to secure their own skilled labor needs.” He also called on politicians to support companies even more, for example in the form of more flexible and digital vocational language courses for trainees.
The network
The “Companies Integrate Refugees” network was founded in 2016 as a joint initiative of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and the Federal Ministry of Economics. With 4,000 members, it is the largest association of companies in Germany that are committed to the training and employment of refugees. The services include advice, information materials, webinars, workshops and events and, like membership, are free of charge.
www.nuif.de
