Air conditioning and ventilation technology is a sensitive matter. If anything goes wrong during the installation of large cooling systems people could be seriously injured – specifically, by leaking gas. For the Osnabrück-based medium-sized company HEIFO that means qualified personnel are the key to success. But finding such personnel is difficult at the moment due to demographic shifts. “We suffer from a lack of specialists,” says managing director Martin Rüterbories.

That has led Rüterbories’ company, which employs some 240 people, to attempt to attract refugees as skilled laborers, not only for economic reasons but also out of a sense of civic duty. “Two young Syrians recently completed internships with us,” says Rüterbories. The only problem is that there are a number of hurdles to be cleared before refugees can actually become employees: lack of language skills, legal uncertainties regarding residency status and practical issues such as the recognition of qualifications and certificates all complicate matters. Intercultural differences must also be carefully dealt with. That, alongside day-to-day operations, has simply overtaxed many companies so far.

‘Companies Integrate Refugees’ network is growing

It has been nine months since German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) President Eric Schweitzer and Federal Minister of Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) joined hands to confront the situation. To this end, the two christened the “Companies Integrate Refugees” network – a campaign designed to expedite the integration of refugees into the professional workforce. The network has grown to include more than 1,000 companies, a fact that was celebrated in Berlin on Thursday, together with the minister for the economy. Gabriel’s motto, which builds on Chancellor Merkel’s oft-quoted slogan, is: “Not a question of ‘we can do this,’ but rather, we are doing it.”

 

read more HERE:    http://www.dw.com/en/businesses-and-refugees-come-together/a-36629714