Refugee Integration Project Honoured

The HR consultancy SYNERGIE was today presented with the iGZ Award in Münster for its project „Work + Language = Integration“. The award recognises companies that demonstrate a particular commitment to their staff or to a specific group of employees. „For us, the award is a wonderful endorsement of our commitment to the integration of migrants,“ says SYNERGIE’s Managing Director, Nicole Munk, delighted.

SYNERGIE launched the project in April 2016 at its Pforzheim site. Together with strong partners and committed companies from the region, the project helps migrants enter the labour market and facilitates their personal and professional integration. „Learning the German language is fundamental to integration,“ said Munk, „and regular contact with others. This interaction is easiest to achieve on a day-to-day basis with colleagues in the workplace.“ For six months, the project participants – in addition to ten hours of German lessons per week from a teacher engaged by SYNERGIE – are placed with companies in the region.

The high-calibre jury, led by Ulf D. Posé, former President of the German Business Ethics Association, and Johannes Vogel, Secretary-General of the FDP in North Rhine-Westphalia and the speaker delivering the laudatory address for the project, emphasised: „With the „Work + Language = Integration“ project, SYNERGIE is helping society make progress on what is perhaps the most important challenge of our time: the integration of refugees. The combination of integration into the labour market and teaching the German language is a recipe for success.“ The jury had selected the project from over 100 entries for the award.

The focus is on the integrative nature of the work, but of course the participants also earn a living through it. Hadi Khalaf, a 33-year-old Yazidi, also took part in the project. He applied for the award together with SYNERGIE. The Iraqi had fled his homeland for religious reasons and now lives in Pforzheim with his wife and three children. At the award ceremony, he said happily: „Through this project, I’ve found a great job that I really enjoy.“

The pilot project in Pforzheim came to an end in the autumn. „All in all, the pilot project was a success for us,“ said SYNERGIE labour market expert Ines Wolf-Vetter, who accepted the award alongside Khalaf. „The participants have improved their language skills and taken important steps in the labour market. We are particularly pleased that four of the six participants are still employed by us on permanent contracts, including Hadi Khalaf,“ Wolf-Vetter summarised. „Work + Language = Integration“ was launched in Heilbronn in the autumn, and at the end of 2016 the project entered its second phase with new participants in Pforzheim. „We now want to roll out the project across the board and launch it at more of our 30-plus sites.“

Photo: Source: iGZ

One You can find a photo gallery of the awards ceremony on our Facebook page.

In the photo taken at the award ceremony, from left to right: Werner Stolz (Chief Executive of iGZ), Johannes Vogel (FDP Secretary-General for North Rhine-Westphalia and member of the jury), Ines Wolf-Vetter (labour market expert at SYNERGIE Personal Deutschland), Hadi Khalaf (project participant and employee at SYNERGIE Personal Deutschland), Sven Kramer (Federal Chair of iGZ)