How can local small and medium-sized businesses attract skilled workers from abroad? How can they retain and further support these workers? What support services are available in Dessau-Roßlau and the surrounding region?
To discuss and address these questions, the WelcomeCenter Saxony-Anhalt, the Network for a Welcoming Culture and Skilled Workforce Recruitment, and the City of Dessau-Roßlau hosted the business event “Finding and Retaining Foreign Skilled Workers” on September 12, 2024. Interested companies and regional experts gathered in the morning at the Federal Environment Agency in Dessau to hear expert presentations and exchange experiences and concrete implementation strategies.
Following a welcome address by the City of Dessau-Roßlau and the Halle-Dessau Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK), Sarah Pierenkemper from the Competence Center for Securing Skilled Workers (KOFA) gave a brief presentation on the skilled worker situation in Dessau-Roßlau and the region. She identified the growing shortage of skilled workers as a key challenge, particularly in the north and east of Saxony-Anhalt, as well as in the skilled trades, construction, and social services. She sees potential for securing a skilled workforce, among other things, in reaching out more actively to women, older workers, the unskilled or semi-skilled, and international workers. Talent could be attracted and retained in the region if companies, for example, established diversity management practices and a welcoming culture and invested in the training and continuing education of their employees. She also noted that ensuring the region’s appeal beyond just working conditions is important in this regard.
Following this presentation, various themed booths were set up for participants, where regional initiatives, educational institutions, and government agencies presented their support services for companies and skilled workers. Lively discussions took place here regarding recruitment programs, language courses, a welcoming culture, and opportunities for professional qualification. To conclude, a local company, the Dießner nursing service, reported on its experiences with recruiting and integrating trainees from abroad. Of central importance—and at the same time not so easy to find—is a reliable and not overly expensive recruitment agency in the target countries. Another key to success is the passion the company puts into its welcome programs and long-term support for the trainees. To that end, it’s very helpful that one person is available full-time to support the roughly 20 trainees and, in addition to organizational tasks, also arranges the occasional afternoon outing to help the newcomers settle in well. For the immigrant trainees, learning German and personal interaction with like-minded peers are also very important, reported one of the company’s trainees.
Moderator Stefanie Schmidt-Pforte from the Halle-Dessau Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) drew a similar conclusion from the company open house: When it comes to employing skilled workers or trainees from abroad, it’s by no means just about finding them—it’s also about the process of retaining them and providing training, which never really ends. Companies and local governments can best navigate this process together by raising awareness of existing opportunities and sharing their valuable experiences with one another.
“Finding and Retaining Foreign Skilled Workers” is an annual event organized by the Network for a Welcoming Culture and Skilled Worker Recruitment and is hosted by the WelcomeCenter Saxony-Anhalt. You can find more information about the network on this page. Information on the legal framework and regional support services related to skilled worker immigration and labor market integration can be found in our resource center.
