Workshops

Description

Initiator: Anna Lüffe, Florian Knape, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)
Speakers: Anna Lüffe, BAMF,  Florian Knape, BAMF, Iris Beckmann-Schulz, passage gGmbH

The directive on the new regular support initiative of the federal government for conveying occupational language skills to migrants in accordance with section 45a of the law on residence (AufenthG) became effective in Juli 2016. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees will organise new occupational language courses as a follow-up programme after the integration courses. They are scheduled to replace the ESF-BAMF programme successively by the end of 2017. The new regular initiative aims to improve the participants’ opportunities for integration into the labour market/vocational training/further measures or to foster their employability. This workshop will inform you about the programme content and its current state of implementation.

Description

Initiator and moderator: Claudia Walther, Bertelsmann Foundation
Moderation:
Anne Güller-Frey, Tür an Tür
Speakers: Miriam Duran, Integration Officer, District Administration of Oberallgäu, Dr Hansgeorg Rehbein, Refugee Coordinator of the City of Krefeld

The City of Krefeld and the District of Oberallgäu are participating in a joint project by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the IQ aid programme as pilot municipalities. The project aims to develop a system of needs-oriented support for municipalities in the field of labour market integration. This is represented by the metaphor of the "modular suitcase".
It is the task of municipalities not only to provide for refugees, but also to integrate them. How can refugees be given vocational training and work as fast as possible? How can the work of the many different institutions be coordinated to establish a functional process chain? All of these tasks can only succeed if the various groups involved on site work together strategically. When it comes to labour market integration, all relevant parties such as the Labour Agency, job centres, the chambers, migrant organisations, language course providers, or counselling services must be on the same page. The focus should be on the humans involved, not their respective "responsibilities". A holistic approach is our fundamental philosophy.

Description

Initiator and speaker: Kay Tröger, EXIS Europa e.V.
Speakers: Daniela Bensch, Leipzig Centre of Vocational and Professional Training (ZAW) GmbH, Sabine Kunze, Chemnitz Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK Chemnitz)

Companies have made their position clear: there is a need for immigrant professionals. Rather than waiting passively, proactive measures are required. Another obvious truth, however: companies need support on all levels. In Saxony, different modular measures are being implemented to provide this support: committee work can help disseminate the topic and, in turn, contribute to the positive image of a region. Companies frequently lack the capacities for acquiring and utilising the required expertise. Training programmes prepare companies for appropriate and confident encounters with immigrants and provide an overview of key challenges.

Kay Tröger: Access to and opening of companies by way of committee work: who needs to be at the table and which formats are promising?

Daniela Bensch: Support offers for companies: how much factual knowledge do employers need and where can they obtain it?

Sabine Kunze: Cooperation with the chambers: how can partnerships work and what is their impact?

Tuesday, 6 December 2016

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Description

Initator and Speaker: Wojciech Cichon, University of Duisburg-Essen
Speakers: Flavia Nebauer, Hochschule Niederrhein, Institut SO.CON, Christa Zuleger, Otto Benecke Stiftung e.V.

First, three examples of how universities can build bridges for migrant academics in the German labour market will be presented and challenges inherent to the implementation of bridge training schemes will be outlined. The plenary session will then provide a platform for a discussion on how to master these challenges.

Wojciech Cichon: "Fast-track courses for the acquisition of an equivalent German university degree". Challenge/success factor: Consideration of the specific, personal situation of the target group

Flavia Nebauer: "guest students". Challenge/success factor: language barriers – support offers and needs for action

Christa Zuleger: "Compact measures at universities as learning environments". Challenge/success factor: theory and practical implementation at the workplace / teaching of intercultural competences

Description

Initiator und Speaker: Julia Lubjuhn, Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB)
Speakers: Cristina Torres Mendes, basis & woge e. V., Angela Leinen
Initiative "Willkommen Deutsch"

The linguistic balancing act between legally watertight and easily comprehensible is a communication challenge in public administration. Especially in communication settings involving non-native speakers, administrative processes must be explained in simple terms. The workshop provides concrete tips for simple language regarding the complex topic "Recognition of foreign professional credentials".

Cristina Torres Mendes: Efficient, satisfactory communication: how to communicate with clients with limited German language skills in labour administration settings

Angela Leinen: Letters that are understood. 5 tips for accessible German

Julia Lubjuhn: Editorial concept of the portal "Recognition in Germany"


Description

Initiator: Rita Leinecke, passage gGmbH
Speakers: Kerstin Sjösvärd, Project Leader Stockholm Gerontology Research Center;Matilde Grünhage-Monetti, Project "Language for Work" European Center for Modern Languages

For a sustainable integration into the German labour market refugees need language and communication skills. In the workshop we will discuss how the development of these skills can be integrated into the informal and non formal learning at the workplace with examples from Sweden and Germany and considerations from a European perspective.

Kerstin Sjösvärd: Supporting language learning in multicultural work communities - experiences from a decade of work in Sweden

Matilde Grünhage-Monetti: From learning for working to working for learning: some considerations on work-oriented L2 development from a European perspective

Rita Leinecke: German Language Coaching and Language mentoring in German companies

Description

Initiator und Speaker: Achim Pohlmann, SprInt gemeinnützige eG
Moderator: Detlev Becker, SprInt gemeinnützige eG
Speakers: Dr. Stefan Touchard, Rheinisch-Westfälischer Genossenschaftsverband e.V., Thomas Lenz, Jobcenter Wuppertal

The not-for-profit cooperative SprInt will be presenting the profession of language and integration mediator, the qualification and concepts involved in providing and distributing an innovative, professional service for the optimisation of reception structures in order to promote the sustainable (labour market) integration of migrants and refugees. For the first time, the not-for-profit cooperative SprInt will be presenting this service as a professional offer in the context of the spirit of cooperatives, which will be transferred to additional regions throughout Germany. The systematic use of SprInt for initial integration efforts ensures smooth communication with the target group and accelerates the optimisation processes of reception structures. The workshop provides an in-depth insight into the range of customers and the requirements for the operating community interpreting agencies from the point of view of a job centre.

Achim Pohlmann: Community interpreting (SprInt - Language and integration mediation), strategies for the sustainable provision of professional communication experts for the support of labour market integration.  Requirements for community interpreting agencies

Dr. Stefan Touchard: Cooperatives as a guarantee for participation

Thomas Lenz, Jobcenter Wuppertal: SprInt in practice at the Wuppertal job centre


Description

Initiator and Speaker: Julia Freudenberg, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Speakers: Dr. Klaus Weigelt, PIN Mail AG, Meike Weiland
Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB)

The workshop consists of three presentations dealing with the factors crucial, from the point of view of companies, to the professional integration of foreign students, with particular consideration of refugees. First to be detailed are crucial parameters for the successful recruitment of professionals and apprentices abroad. The following contribution discusses the success factors for a smooth employment relationship between companies and refugees. The third lecture is geared towards the practical company reality and presents the experiences of the PIN Mail AG and challenges involved in the professional integration of refugees.

Julia Freudenberg: Success factors for the professional integration of refugees from the point of view of companies

Meike Weiland: FaMigra project: Immigration to Germany - operational decision-making factors for staff recruitment

Description

Initiator and Speaker: Ines Weihing, Tür an Tür Integrationsprojekte gGmbH
Moderatorin: Anna Stein, Tür an Tür Integrationsprojekte gGmbH
Speakers: Dr. Carola Burkert, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB),Dr. Ulf Rinne IZA - Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH

The recent increase in refugee movement to Germany has led to a controversial public discussion about the labour market performance of immigrants and consequential economic impacts. On the basis of latest research, simulations of economic impacts and insights in practical experiences by hands-on experts, this workshop aims to deliver a comprehensive picture of current state and possible scenarios. In the following discussion, we will focus on developing strategies to promote an efficient and long-term labour market integration based on individual skills and qualifications.

Dr. Carola Burkert: Status Quo and Development of the Labour Market Integration of Immigrants in Germany

Dr. Ulf Rinne: Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Refugees in Germany

Ines Weihing: Make Labour Market Integration Work - Specialist Counselling as Requirement


Wednesday, 7 December 2016

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Description

Initiator and moderation: Gesine Keßler-Mohr, Hamburg Chamber of Skilled Crafts
Speakers:
Birte Steller, Hamburg Agency for Work, Social Affairs, Family and Integration, Rebecka Glaser, Labour Market Administration, Stockholms Stad / City of Stockholm

Experts from Germany and Sweden present new pilot projects in the field of refugee integration from Stockholm and Hamburg. Following initial results of selected model projects (Fast Track and W.I.R) from 2015, we must now assess whether these approaches are suitable for facilitating fast access to the labour market for refugees in sectors with skill shortages.

Birte Steller: City of Hamburg: W.I.R; work an integration for refugees: a long-term-approach to improve the labour-market-integration.

 

Rebecka Glaser: "City of Stockholm: SFX - fast track to a job for newcomers with a Profession"

 


Description

Initiator and speaker: Dr Martin Noack, Bertelsmann Foundation
Speakers: Ramona Lòpez Salinas, AWO interkulturell Kiel, Helge Wilters, Plön District Job Centre

Skills are the key to successful labour market integration. In cooperation with the seven charitable organisations and with support from the Forschungsinstitut Betriebliche Bildung (f-bb), the Bertelsmann Foundation has developed competence cards for potential analyses in migrant counselling in order to reveal these skills. At present, 8,000 sets of cards are being used in migration counselling, job centres, communal administration and educational institutes. This workshop will introduce the free, open-licence tool, discuss practical cases of application and provide an opportunity to use the cards together with other participants.

Dr Martin Noack: "A first step toward the recognition of skills in Germany: skill cards – practical, accessible, flexible, visual"

Ramona Lòpez Salinas: "Arriving in Germany – skill cards as a signpost towards work and vocational training"

Helge Wilters: "Dismantling fears: skill cards as a tool for the first discussion with displaced young adults"

Description

Initiator: Elisabeth Hoffmann, Minor Project Office for Education and Research
Speakers: Dr Christian Pfeffer-Hoffmann, Minor Project Office for Education and Research, Jessy Medernach, CUCULA e. V., Bettina Wagner, Berlin Counselling Office for Posted Workers Sent to Berlin

The workshop explores the question of how politics, business and society can contribute to a fair system of labour market integration that provides equal employment opportunities to everyone, suited to their individual skills and regardless of their origin, gender and other features of identity.

Description

Initiator and Speaker: Lena Werner, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung, Universität Mannheim
Speakers: Matthias Henel, Stadt Mannheim, Victoria Hepting, Integrationsbeauftragte Stadt Heilbronn, Stabsstelle Partizipation und Integration

Migrant enterprises are said to have both economic and social effects, which are most clearly visible at the local level. But entrepreneurs and self-employed people with a migration background face additional challenges that frequently prevent them from reaching their full potential. How to organise an effective, local support system for migrants wishing to open a business venture or become self-employed? Which parties must be involved? The workshop will be exploring these questions from an academic, economic, and integration policy perspective. Potential communal approaches will be highlighted on the basis of case studies from Mannheim and Heilbronn, with a particular view to interconnecting approaches.

Lena Werner: Start-up assistance for migrants: requirements for a local support system

Matthias Henel:Interconnecting offers from the Mannheim start-up support service for specific target groups: services for migrants wishing to open a business venture

Victoria Hepting: Entrepreneurs with a migration background in Heilbronn – a survey and recommended actions

Description

Initiator and Speaker: Wolfgang Erler, anakonde GbR
Speaker:
Anna Wüstefeld, Agentur für Arbeit Ulm

Volunteers play an active role in the field of refugee assistance, including the facilitation of gainful employment. Employment agencies and job centres must engage in new cooperative efforts and intensely involve those providing social work for refugees. The workshop will examine the network of involved actors. It aims for practically applicable good-practice recommendations and model developments, comparable to the Early Intervention project launched by the Federal Labour Agency. Both inputs illustrate practical experiences gained during the last year: firstly, by a project manager for forced migration and asylum at a regional branch of the Federal Labour Office, and secondly, from the dual perspective of "bottom-up" civic involvement on the one hand, and the social sciences on the other.

Anna Wüstefeld: Experiences with and concepts for the cooperation of employment agencies with volunteers in refugee assistance. A practical perspective

Wolfgang Erler: Refugee integration: new constellations in the welfare mix: Volunteers as "civic agents" of labour market integration

Description

Initiator and Speaker: David Westenberg, inter 3 GmbH
Moderation: Dr. Susanne Schön, inter 3 GmbH
Speakers: Maimouna Ouattara, Sprecherin des Bundesverbandes ausländischer Studierender (BAS), Prof. Dr. Swetlana Franken, Professorin für BWL an der Fachhochschule Bielefeld, Safaa Mohajeri, inter 3 GmbH

Increasing numbers of international students are successfully graduating from German universities. Most of them can imagine staying in Germany upon completion of their studies, but many struggle to start their careers. The workshop will provide impulses for shaping and improving the recruitment, smooth integration and long-term retention of international students and graduates in small and medium-sized enterprises. The speakers will highlight areas in which assistance is needed, both from the perspective of students/graduates and that of small and medium-sized enterprises. On this basis, necessary structures, types of cooperation and action fields in the area of transition management will be identified. In addition, good practices will be illustrated using case studies.

Maimouna Ouattara: International students’ motivations and requirements to stay in Germany

Prof. Dr. Swetlana Franken: The perspective of small and medium-sized enterprises: how to recruit international students and graduates successfully?

David Westenberg/Safaa Mohajeri: Shaping the transition: fields of action for the labour market integration of international students and graduates in small and medium-sized enterprises

Description

Initiator and Speaker: Marie-Claire von Radetzky, "BQ-Portal", Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW)
Speakers:
Dr. Regina Flake, "KOFA", Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW), Anja Katrin Orth,"Make it in Germany", Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW)

Especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly struggling to find adequately qualified candidates for their vacancies. This workshop shows which occupations and regions are particularly affected. Experts with foreign vocational qualifications can help fill these gaps. But what legal frameworks must companies take into account when it comes to employing international professionals? How can SMEs evaluate foreign professional qualifications and achieve successful integration? These questions will be discussed with experts from KOFA, "Make it in Germany", BQ Portal and Randstad.

Dr. Regina Flake: Skill shortages in companies – who is needed where?

Anja Katrin Orth: The opportunities and conditions of qualified immigration

Marie-Claire von Radetzky: The recognition procedure as an opportunity – how companies can support and profit from it

Description

Initiator: Virginia Gamarra de Lang, Stadt Freiburg im Breisgau
Speakers: Dr. med. Nabeel Khaled Farhan, Freiburg International Academy gGmbH,Sabine Rohde, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg,

Migrants are increasingly present in healthcare institutions both as service providers and as users. What qualification and support services can be offered to prepare professional staff with foreign qualifications in the field of medicine and healthcare for their professional lives in German clinical environments and facilitate their entry into the German labour market? The workshop will highlight obstacles and advantages in professional integration on the basis of case studies from an employer and an education provider. They will discuss how a commune can promote cooperation with the relevant parties involved in the provision of healthcare to migrants. The workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with tried-and-tested approaches from Freiburg.

Dr. med. Nabeel Khaled Farhan: The Freiburg model of qualification of physicians and healthcare professionals with foreign qualifications

Sabine Rohde: A way to the recruitment and long-term retention of healthcare professionals with foreign qualifications

Virginia Gamarra de Lang: How can communes pool resources in order to overcome current challenges in the provision of healthcare?


Description

Initiator: Irma Wagner, ebb Entwicklungsgesellschaft für berufliche Bildung mbH
Moderation: Andreas Bärnreuther, Tür an Tür Integrationsprojekte gGmbH
Speakers: Monis Bukhari, Journalist and Blogger, Vanessa Lebrato-Criado, WDR Funkhaus Europa

Over the course of the past year, a large number of media formats for refugees has emerged, aiming to offer support during arrival and integration. The workshop will introduce a variety of formats (apps, blogs, radio shows) and compare their content and effectiveness. Speakers will include the operators of these formats along with refugees detailing their own experiences with them. What has proven successful, what has not? What are the greatest challenges and obstacles in the realisation of the individual formats?

Monis Bukhari: Blogs, online communities and other media formats for refugees from the perspective of an operator and user

Sabine Rossi: Integration through information: on the role of public service broadcasters

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Description

Initiator: Sonja Basjmeleh, Handwerkskammer Hamburg
Moderation: Kübra Gümüşay, Politikwissenschaftlerin
Speakers: Dr. Mansur Ali, Cardiff University, Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK, Eliza-Maimouna Sarr, basis & woge e.V.

Experts from the UK and Germany picture the current debates on religious clothing regulations in both countries. The workshop’s emphasis lies on the health care sector with its specific requirements. How do these countries act between individual demands through religious clothing and hygienic regulations? How does discrimination influence the debates? Experts, working with people affected, will focus on real-life experience. The aim is to give recommendations for professional everyday work by developing ideas that allow a pragmatic view and approach for all.

Dr. Mansur Ali:Bare below the elbow – Religious clothing regulations and hygienic standards in the UK: Debating towards a better
practice?

Eliza-Maimouna Sarr: Hygienic standards versus religious clothing regulations? Non-discrimination rules as standard for a good practice.

Description

Initiator: Armando García Schmidt, Bertelsmann Foundation
Speakers: Ralf Sänger, ism e. V., Armin Schauf, Lippe Communal Integration Centre, Kameran Shwani, Department of Labour and Economic Development, Munich

Even today, speaking of migrant businesses frequently prompts the “kebab van” cliché. But entrepreneurs with a migration background crucially contribute to economic dynamism, employment and integration in many industries in Germany. Migrant business can only succeed in a social environment that grants them acceptance and recognition. This workshop serves as a platform for the discussion of promising practical approaches to enshrining a realistic image of the economic and social contributions of migrant businesses in society.

Ralf Sänger: "Dismantling clichés, revealing reality. The work of the Competence Centre for Migrant Entrepreneurship for the public perception of migrant businesses"

Armin Schauf: "Project: migrants as entrepreneurs. Economic diversity in Lippe"

Kameran Shwani: "Phoenix Prize – Munich’s business award for migrant companies"

Description

Initiator and speaker: Dr Wolfgang Sieber, Netzwerk Lippe gGmbH
Speakers: Michael Wennemann, IHK Lippe zu Detmold [Chamber of Commerce and Industry Lippe-Detmold]

Approximately 90 % of refugees in Germany did not complete any vocational training or higher education in their country of origin. Many have gained professional experience at home, however. In most cases, the refugees have no relation to the German vocational training system or the labour market. Best practices are used to illustrate how refugees can be integrated particularly well.

Dr Wolfgang Sieber: "Integration through work – uncovering potential by means of dialogue and practical orientation tests"

Michael Wennemann: "Integration through work – company tours as a learning experience for refugees and employers"

Description

Initiator: Rebecca Atanassov, Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB)
Speakers: Dr. Jessica Erbe, Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB), Indre Zetzsche, DIHK Service, Daniel Weber, DGB Bildungswerk

The Recognition Acts of the Federal Government and the Länder constitute an important instrument in the field of human resources development and recruitment, which helps companies to cover their demand for professional staff. The workshop will highlight the actual use of this instrument in companies. On the basis of first-hand experiences in professional contexts, the workshop will explore the challenges posed and value offered to companies by these laws. It will also feature a discussion on how to encourage companies to intensify their use of the existing possibilities.

Dr. Jessica Erbe: The potential of foreign professional qualification – Companies between opportunities and challenges

Indre Zetzsche: Finding qualified staff, retaining employees. Why companies support the recognition of professional qualifications

Daniel Weber: A culture of recognition – now!

Description

Initiator and Speaker: Christina Mersch, DIHK Service GmbH
Speakers: Svenja Jambo, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln e.V., Heidi Walther, ARRIVO Berlin

Companies need support with the integration of refugees. Information portals such as KOFA, the exchange in the NUiF network and projects by the support programme IvAF (Integration of Asylum Seekers and Refugees) constitute an important contribution. What information do companies require to master these challenges? What value do networks contribute to a successful integration process? The ARRIVO Berlin initiative will be presenting case studies of successful networking in this context. Experts from KOFA, NuiF and ARRIVO will be discussing factors for successful networking during the workshop.

Christina Mersch: Networking companies. Integrating refugees.

Svenja Jambo: What requirements must be taken into account when employing refugees, and what support services exist for companies?

Description

Initiator and Speaker: Ariane Baderschneider, Forschungsinstitut Betriebliche Bildung (f-bb)
Speakers: Karin Ransberger, passage gGmbH, Katharina Moraht
Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB)

There are many paths towards labour market integration for refugees and they are supported by a large variety of information services. Due to the high degree of digital literacy among young refugees, in particular, digital offers play an important role. The bandwidth spans translation tools, language-learning apps and even integrated qualification services. This has prompted us to explore the following questions during the workshop: what estimates can be made regarding the use of media by refugees? What services exist and how can they be effectively used as part of the integration process? What must be taken into consideration when developing services? Case studies from the fields of recognition, language acquisition and qualification will be presented.

Ariane Baderschneider: Targeted teaching and learning settings for refugees in virtual classrooms

Karin Ransberger: Digital language-learning services for refugees: Requirements and case studies

Katharina Moraht: Website and app: the recognition portal

Description

Initiator: Tatiana La Mura Flores, passage gGmbH
Speakers: Dr. Verena Plutzar, Universität Wien, Silke Ahrens, passage gGmbH, Sabine Stallbaum, AWO Bielefeld

 

The workshop will illustrate how experiences of forced migration and the present living standards of refugees impact on their language acquisition process, and how German-teaching methods can respond to trauma. Language teachers face new challenges when working with refugees in their classes: how to prepare professional language teachers? What methods and materials are suitable? What training needs and offers exist? The workforce of German teachers for refugees also includes volunteers. This workshop will be discussing the opportunities and limitations of this civic involvement and discuss helpful, tested support services for voluntary teaching assistants.

Dr. Verena Plutzar: Discussions on the consequences of forced migration and trauma and their implications for German classes for adults

Silke Ahrens: Training needs of language teachers working with refugees

Sabine Stallbaum: Voluntary teaching assistants: opportunities and limitations

Description

Initator: Wolfgang Vogt, Forschungs- und Transferstelle GIM an der Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft des Saarlandes
Speakers: Guido Freidinger, state capital of Saarbrücken, Yvonne Plötz, AWO Landesverband Saarland, Ioana Josuweit, Diakonisches Werk an der Saar

Free movement of people and labour is a permanent part of current European migration policies. In many cases, integration succeeds almost unnoticed. But labour exploitation, social deprivation and discrimination are a reality. This workshop will explore the question of how municipalities and other involved parties can create successful paths to integration into urban society and the labour market.

Guido Freidinger: EU immigration from the perspective of municapl social and labour market politics

Yvonne Plötz: Critical approaches to labour market access for EU citizens

Ioana Josuweit: Equal opportunities – attainable or utopian? EU mobility, social imbalances and labour exploitation


 


 


 


 

 

Description

Initiator: Elisa Hartmann, GAB München
Moderation: Jost Buschmeyer, GAB München
Speakers:
Anna Tangerding, GründerRegio M e.V., Dr. Linda Manning, University of Ottawa, Henry Akanko, Hire Immigrants Ottawa 

The integration of foreign professionals poses considerable challenges for many small and medium-sized enterprises. Although there is frequently no lack of motivation, the necessary expertise remains scarce. The following approaches will be introduced and discussed at four “market stalls” during the workshop:

1st A study of strategies employed by young, innovative companies to recruit and train foreign staff.

2nd Practical example: a culturally sensitive training and familiarisation concept that builds a bridge between the various resources offered by new employees and the concrete requirements at work.

3rd Canadian approaches: employer engagement and cooperation with companies.

4th Canadian approaches: experiences made by Hire Immigrants Ottawa.