Chamber of Crafts and Trades' refugee initiative has been successful since 2015.
Ahmad Fardin Hosseini recently completed his electrical engineer training - six months earlier than scheduled. His boss, Thomas Kocher, who for many years has put his heart and soul into training aspiring skilled workers at his Dortmund-based electrical engineering company, is very proud of what the 23-year-old has achieved. This is not just because Hosseini finished his training early, but because he did so while having much more to overcome than most other trainees.
Hosseini arrived in the company in 2016 as a refugee via the Dortmund Chamber of Crafts and Trades refugee initiative. His boss explained that working with the young man from Afghanistan was an enriching experience for everyone in the team. So Kocher did not hesitate in offering the young skilled worker a permanent contract. Kocher explained that without the preparatory work undertaken by the Dortmund Chamber of Crafts and Trades, successful integration in the labour market such as that achieved by Ahmad Hosseini would barely have been possible for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Chamber initially started a pilot project in 2015 which used targeted training measures to facilitate training in the craft trades for refugees. "We wanted to help refugees in a tangible way. We wanted to do that with vocational education and training resulting in integration," explains Chamber of Crafts and Trades Director Olesja Mouelhi-Ort. "At that time, the work we have undertaken in the area of economic policy-making was particularly important. Because there were no clear regulations or structures for our plan, these initially had to be developed in numerous discussions with the relevant authorities." Only then, explained Mouelhi-Ort, was it possible to approach the training companies. "We wanted to provide business owners with a sound basis for the training of project participants. The aim was to prevent additional work for companies".
Gradually, the initial Chamber of Crafts and Trades 2015 refugee initiative became an established concept. This then continued to be shaped by experience and by addressing any weaknesses. The project received financial support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development up to and including 2017. The initial stand-alone training courses grew into a seven-month full-time training programme. This is divided into four modules, the first of which initially discusses the competencies of participants. This is followed by workshop phases, a placement lasting several weeks as well as taught theoretical units covering work-related German and mathematical knowledge. Intercultural coaching is also intended to prepare participants as well as possible for entering the training market in Germany.
Since the launch in 2015, there are now four Chamber of Crafts and Trades refugee initiatives which have helped a total of 153 participants out of 171 into training, onto entry qualifications or into placements. 13 young people have already completed their training from the first two projects and 12 have been taken on by the company.
The training of the remaining participants is still in progress. In November 2019, the fifth project cycle started in collaboration with the Dortmund Employment Agency which has been involved as a cooperation partner since 2016.
"When Mr Hosseini arrived in the company, he knew what he was getting himself in to. He had been intensively prepared by the Dortmund Chamber of Crafts and Trades and demonstrated real ambition in his work," explains Thomas Kocher. He is certain that the young man has a very promising career ahead of him. "In just a few years he will either be a senior fitter or a master craftsman."
Back then, the business owner had appointed another trainee alongside Hosseini. He explained, however, that he had taken the opportunity to complete his training in a company in Mönchengladbach to be closer to his family, a decision which Kocher had fully understood. Today, he still regards having participated in the Chamber of Crafts and Trades refugee initiative as an important decision. "I hope that the project continues, because it provides refugees with future professional prospects. In my view, integration also works best via a job. This is where you talk to colleagues and get together every now and then after work. Friendships are created and foreign surroundings become ever more familiar."