Discover Germany! The Qualified Professionals Initiative

Transcription

1 Discover Germany! 23/11/2013 EKONID Event-Report Discover Germany! Make it in Germany, the Welcome to Germany portal of the qualified professionals initiative shows qualified professionals from other countries the way to Germany and what makes it worthwhile to live and work there. For the first time, the portal bundles together all the key information about making a career and living in Germany. It tells you which sectors are in search of qualified professionals and what the terms and conditions are of being able to take up employment in Germany. In actual fact, Make it in Germany is more than just an information portal it is the expression of a whole culture of welcome. It draws a portrait of contemporary Germany and provides practical advice on successful integration. International qualified professionals who have already embarked on a successful career in Germany recount their own personal experiences. The Qualified Professionals Initiative Trends on the German labor market are looking good. The number of employed, currently at over 41 million, has never been higher. Yet at the same time, some sectors and regions are already lacking qualified professionals. Particularly in the health sector and in sectors requiring

2 STEM qualifications (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) there is an acute problem and companies are already experiencing a shortage of skilled staff. If nothing is done, by 2025 demographic changes will have inevitably created a shortfall of more than 6 million workers. Thus, Germany needs skilled migrants in addition to its own nationals if it is to sustain long-term growth and prosperity. Politicians, management, labor and businesses are all unanimous that the lack of qualified professionals is going to present a crucial challenge in the years ahead. This is why the Federal Government has made the quest to secure qualified professionals a key policy issue, and in June 2011 submitted a concept to ensure the supply of qualified professionals. To encourage more qualified professionals from abroad to come to Germany, the government has eased the immigration rules. It has also made it easier to get professional qualifications that were obtained abroad acknowledged. Therefore the EU Blue Card", which allows for more flexible immigration opportunities, has come into effect on August 1 st, Accompanying the government s concept is a Qualified Professionals Initiative launched by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Federal Employment Agency. This initiative aims at providing information and raising awareness among the general public, businesses and qualified professionals about the causes and impact of this shortage of skilled workers. It bundles advice and support from the different partners and shows how existing and hitherto neglected potential in Germany and beyond its borders can be recognized and used. Besides ensuring that the country s own internal potential is used to the full, the campaign also promotes the targeted immigration of skilled labor. A key element in this campaign is the welcome portal which seeks to attract international experts. The aim is to position Germany as an attractive destination in the growing global competition for the best minds. The website provides comprehensive information on living and working in Germany and promotes a contemporary image of Germany as a country with a culture of hospitality that is open, welcoming and diverse. The Make it in Germany Portal is part of this Qualified Professionals Initiative. It complements the measures being taken inside Germany by providing a multilingual internet portal for international skilled workers. Because today, one thing is already certain: the current workforce is not enough to secure the medium and long-term needs for qualified professionals. Germany also needs highly trained professionals from abroad to cover the demand on the German labor market.

3 Make it in Germany Pilot Projects in Asia Beginning of 2013, the Qualified Professionals Initiative has launched three pilot projects for professionals who are interested in working in Germany. The projects have been launched in India, Indonesia and Vietnam, three countries with high numbers of graduates in the STEM sectors and whose governments are pursuing an active migration policy. These projects are now providing special service through a team of Make it in Germany advisors in each country, actively promoting the placement process and offering qualified professionals local-based initial support as they prepare for their move to Germany. This can range from information events, to individual support with job-hunting and the application procedure and tips on preparing for the departure to Germany. The advisors themselves originate from the respective countries but have previously spent time studying or working in Germany. They are therefore able to draw on a wealth of knowledge and experience from both, their country of origin and Germany. In addition to the support offered to qualified professionals, the Make it in Germany advisors also work on fostering networks of German institutions in the respective countries, in order to provide advice on the best means for recruiting qualified professionals. The advisors will make meaningful use of the established networks and experiences which have been built up by German institutions, including the foreign missions, international chambers of commerce, the Goethe-Institut, the DAAD, the political foundations and German development co-operation programs. The pilot projects are now being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The project partner is the International Placement Service (ZAV) of the Federal Employment Agency (BA). The process of designing each individual project takes into account both the interests of the German labor market as well as the particular situation of the respective country of origin. Special attention is paid to ensuring that advisors do not actively approach qualified professionals for whom there is an urgent need in their own country. Regarding this,

4 attention is particularly devoted to the interests of the country of origin (avoiding brain-drain, promoting know-how transfer, giving advice on making money transfers to the country of origin); that is to say, attracting qualified professionals in a developmental sensitive manner. Discover Germany! Aryaduta Hotel, Jakarta 23 rd November, 2013 The GIZ with support of its partner institutions, EKONID The German Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Indonesia), The German Embassy and The Goethe-Institut hosted the Discover Germany! event on Saturday the 23 rd November, 2013 in the Aryaduta Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Make it in Germany advisors introduced the portal and provided the audience with detailed information at their Make it in Germany booth. Furthermore, two intriguing panel discussions were held at Discover Germany!. Initially, three Indonesian nationals shared their experiences of living in Germany, followed by a panel discussion on Working in Germany with the focus on the challenges of a global management, different leadership styles in Indonesia and Germany and the benefits of gaining work experience in Germany. Two major Indonesian automotive experts also highlighted their experience in Germany and how it boosted their careers in Indonesia.

5 Welcome and Introduction to Discover Germany! The Discover Germany! event was opened through a welcome speech by the Deputy Country Director Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN of the GIZ, Dr. Ralf Sanftenberg and the Deputy Head of Mission Dr. Thorsten Hutter from the German Embassy. Both expressed their appreciation to the participants for their great interest in the event. Especially remarkable was the high percentage of Indonesian female attendees, untypical for the STEM sectors (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Audience consisting of around 100 Indonesian young professionals Afterwards Dr. Ralf Sanftenberg introduced the GIZ The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. The GIZ assists the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation. Subsequently Make it in Germany advisor Ms. Bunadi opened her presentation by showing a video titled Germany Land of ideas. This video depicts Germany as an interesting and attractive place to live and work especially for skilled professionals as it is open to new ideas and innovations. The

6 presentation aimed at answering the question Why Germany? by focusing on some German key characteristics: Germany stands for Stability, Quality of Life, Freedom and Diversity. In addition, Ms. Bunadi pointed out the family-friendly work environment and gave examples of success stories of people with migration background, such as Cem Özdemir, Philipp Rösler and Mesut Özil. The presentation was closed with the strong message that Germany welcomes young professionals from Indonesia to implement their innovative ideas. To underline this message, a video about Sri Nugroho, a successful Indonesian mechanical engineer who lived in Germany for 20 years was shown. Make it in Germany advisor introducing the concept of the initiative Following Ms. Bunadi, Make it in Germany advisor Mr. Ridha Putra introduced the concept of Make it in Germany and provided information in preparation to take up work in Germany. The background of the initiative, the requirements for taking part, the application process, language aspects, visa regulations for Indonesian citizens, the salary structure in the relevant sectors, information about the Indonesian community in Germany as well as possibilities for the partner or family to come along were all featured during his presentation.

7 Coffee Break/Information Exchange/Networking The coffee break gave more than one hundred registered participants from the STEM sectors (graduates and young professionals) the opportunity to try German delicacies and obtain first hand information from the speakers and advisors. Make it Germany"-booth GIZ-booth Booth of the Goethe-Institut Booth of the German Embassy The Indonesian participants showed high interest in the whole initiative and thus made great use of the information booths by approaching them frequently in large numbers and asking many topic-related questions. The Make it in Germany advisors offered extensive consultancy regarding the whole initiative and the labor market in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sectors. One-on-one consultations and individual quick checks were conducted by the advisors. The GIZ handed out general information about their organization and informed about the focus areas of the GIZ in Indonesia. The information provided by the booth of the Goethe-Institut concerned the importance of acquiring German language skills for migrating qualified professionals, language courses in Indonesia and in Germany and gave an introduction of the German culture, life in Germany and spare time activities.

8 The German Embassy informed the Indonesian young professionals about general facts concerning Germany and current visa regulations for Indonesian citizens. Panel discussion: Living in Germany Following the coffee break, moderator Betty Siahaan invited Benny Martin, Managing Director of Tunap Indonesia, Amalia Suzianti, Vice Head of the Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Indonesia and Agung Sawarna, Vice President of Ilthabi Aerospace Group and Secretary General of PAJ - Perhimpunan Alumni Jerman, on the stage. All three speakers have spent a significant amount of time in Germany and are now living in Indonesia again. The three Indonesian nationals shared their experiences of living and working in Germany and how it affected their future career. Betty Siahaan moderating the panel discussion Benny Martin sharing his experiences in Germany To start the panel discussion the three participants briefly introduced themselves and then talked about their individual experiences in Germany. They evaluated on several aspects, such as: the first impression, activities of daily life like buying groceries and commuting from one place to another, finding an apartment, communicating with Germans, challenges they faced in private and work life and finally their return to Indonesia. They also gave some helpful advice on how to best prepare for the move to Germany. The audience paid high attention to the input of the speakers and several questions were raised during the discussion..

9 Lunch break/information Exchange/Networking Subsequent to the panel discussion, the buffet was opened for all guests, serving various commonly eaten dishes in Germany. Same as the coffee breaks, the lunch break was used by the Indonesian participants for obtaining further information. Not only the information booths of the supporting institutions were frequently visited, but also the speakers of the panel discussions were ready to answer any questions asked by the young professionals who are interested in starting a new chapter of their professional career in Germany. Panel discussion: Working in Germany Importance of an internationally experienced and mobilized workforce in globalizing markets The second panel discussion shifted the focus more towards the topic Working in Germany. Two moderators, Kristina Tri Kusdiana and Irnawati from EKONID (AHK Indonesia), led the group of eight participants from different backgrounds and organizations. The audience was very interested in the discussion and keen to hear the contributions of Mr. Jongkie Sugiarto, Vice Chairman of PT Hyundai Indonesia, Mr. Andreas Beckermann, Counsellor and Head of Development Cooperation of the German Embassy in Jakarta, Mr. Anwar Makhdonal, Program

10 Advisor of the GIZ, Mr. Jürgen Lenzko, Deputy Director and Head of Language Department of the Goethe-Institut, Mr. Ary Tjahyono, Deputy Director of Engineering at Mercedes-Benz Indonesia, Mr. Oliver Schollmeyer, Senior Manager at BDI - Federation of German Industries, Mr. Benny Martin, Managing Director of Tunap Indonesia and Mr. Stefan Ciesielski, Director and Executive Coach at AsiaLeader. The participants, originating from different sectors elaborated on their individual background and connection to Germany and shared their extensive knowledge and experience with the appreciating and well prepared audience. The topics discussed included obstacles and benefits for Indonesian employees while working in a German business environment. Mr. Ciesielski - Director and Coach at AsiaLeader Mr. Schollmeyer - Senior Manager at BDI

11 Towards the end of the discussion the participants all agreed on the triple win effect according to which all three parties will benefit: Indonesia, Germany and the employee in question. Indonesian young professionals asking questions Closing: Networking & Individual Consulting Following the official program the Indonesian attendees had the chance to further ask questions to the participants of both panel discussions and to the advisors of the supporting institutions at the information booths.