Pilot project: Work + Language = Integration

„We have launched a pilot project in collaboration with well-known companies to help integrate migrants into the labour market,“ says Nicole Munk, Managing Director of SYNERGIE Personal Deutschland, at today’s anniversary event in Pforzheim, the „City of Gold“. The SYNERGIE branch in Pforzheim, the second-oldest location of this long-established recruitment agency, is celebrating its 35th anniversary at the Schmuckwelten and is also presenting the “Work + Language = Integration” project, which was launched in mid-April.

„Learning the German language is fundamental to integration,“ Munk continued, „as is regular contact with others. This interaction is easiest to achieve on a day-to-day basis with colleagues in the workplace.“ This is where the pilot project, in which six migrants are taking part, comes in. In addition to ten hours of German lessons per week at SYNERGIE’s premises, the project participants are working at well-known companies in the region, such as HÄRTER Stanztechnik in Königsbach-Stein and BÖHMLER Drehteile in Pforzheim.

„I was given a very warm welcome by my colleagues and my boss at HÄRTER,“ says Hadi Khalaf, delighted with the opportunity. „Because I „have to“ speak German with my colleagues, I’ve already learnt a lot in just the first few days.“ The 32-year-old Iraqi, a Yazidi, fled Iraq several years ago for religious reasons and now lives in Pforzheim with his wife and three children. He is delighted that he was recently able to bring his 15-year-old sister to join him, and naturally wants to be able to provide for her and his family. As in Hadi Khalaf’s case, employment within the companies initially involves simpler, train-on-the-job tasks, including in the manufacturing sector. The focus is on the integrative nature of the work, but of course the participants also earn a living in this way.

The prospect of long-term professional – and, of course, social – integration once the project ends in six months„ time is what drives everyone involved. “In the past, we have already been able to offer an apprenticeship at our company to committed production staff placed with us by SYNERGIE,„ says Angelika Domig, Managing Director of BÖHMLER Drehteile. “Perhaps this project will also include a participant who is just as motivated.”

SYNERGIE’s Managing Director, Nicole Munk, hopes that the project will set a precedent: „At all 20 of our sites in Baden-Württemberg and the Palatinate, we are desperately seeking committed staff for our client companies. At the same time, many migrants – partly due to a lack of language skills – are not given the opportunity to enter the labour market and thus to integrate further into society. That is why we want to roll out this project from Pforzheim to other areas, together with strong local partners.“ Initial discussions on this are already underway.

Munk went on to say that the signals from federal politics following the coalition summit two weeks ago were also promising and improved the prospects for such projects: „With the proposed move to open up the temporary employment sector to refugees after just three months, politicians are sending out a positive signal for integration,“ said Nicole Munk, welcoming the announcement.