All ‘Be Welcome’ Participants Have Found A Professional Perspective
Subject: Society
Country: Germany
Category: Project
All of the individuals in the fourth group of the “Be Welcome” project initiated by Bertelsmann to help displaced persons have prospects for a professional future in Germany – through an apprenticeship, a job, further training or study courses. The fifth group will launch in January.
The support is having an effect: all of the 16 current participants of the “Be Welcome” project initiated by Bertelsmann to help displaced persons in Gütersloh have prospects for a professional future. Seven of them were offered an apprenticeship at a regional company, six have accepted job offers, two want to acquire a secondary school certificate at night school, and one of them will be studying. This is the result of the fourth round of the project initiated in 2016 through which Bertelsmann and the job center for the Gütersloh region aim to help young displaced persons find an entry into the regional job market. In May, the company decided to continue the project. The fifth round will launch in January; the participants are currently being selected.
Left a good impression
“We are delighted that we were able to prepare the young people for what they will now hopefully start: a fulfilled professional life and good prospects for earning a steady income here in Germany,” said Klaus Röttger, Head of Corporate Education at Bertelsmann; the “Be Welcome” team is organizationally assigned to this department. Andreas Oesterwinter and Nora Kroemer as project managers have ensured with cooperation partners that the eight women and eight men, 18 to 26 years of age, from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, can gain a professional orientation, acquire German language skills, and establish contact with companies in the Gütersloh region – including Bertelsmann companies. One of the participants from Syria will start an apprenticeship to train as a print media technologist at Mohn Media next summer. Others have found training positions in the fields of nursing care for the elderly, pharmaceutical-technical assistance, automotive mechatronics, retail sales and IT specialization. Previously, they completed an internship at a company to get an impression of the scope of duties. They all left such a good impression that they will now be able to continue working there as trainees.
