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Feature14 September 2016,
updated14 September 2016Siemens AGMunich
In various areas Siemens is committed to helping refugees. In spring 2015 the eight week internship program started and has now been extended to 14 locations. Siemens is also offering six-month special training courses. These courses encompass intensive language instruction as well as pre-vocational training in the areas of mechanics and electronics. The goal is to enable the participants to get an apprenticeship training position.
Siemens Real Estate is making space available on a temporary basis at 15 different locations throughout Germany, among these locations are Munich and Erlangen. Countless employees all across Germany have also offered their help and participated in a wide range of donation and aid campaigns.
Siemens Real Estate is making space available on a temporary basis at 15 different locations throughout Germany, among these locations are Munich and Erlangen. Countless employees all across Germany have also offered their help and participated in a wide range of donation and aid campaigns.
Background: Siemens' commitment to helping refugees
Internships:
- Siemens is currently offering two-month paid internships for 13 refugees who have applied for asylum.
- Our internship program includes an integration workshop with the participating department and a so-called "buddy" (mentor), who serves as additional contact from another department.
- The pilot internship program, launched in Erlangen in the spring of 2015, offers ten internships. The program has now been extended to 14 other locations, including Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden and Munich.
- Siemens' goal for 2016 is to provide internships for up to 100 refugees with suitable qualifications. By end of August 2016 72 internships had been offered.
- At Siemens, interns generally receive the minimum wage or the prevailing rate of compensation for interns at the specified location.
- The long-term advantages of Siemens' internship concept include further opportunities such as fixed-term employment, student trainee jobs and integration into special training courses or vocational training programs. What's more, internships enable participants to get a foot in the door at other companies.
Training and hiring refugees:
- To give refugees the basis for a successful start in vocational training programs at Siemens, we're offering six-month special training courses. These courses encompass intensive language instruction, pre-vocational training in the areas of mechanics and electronics as well as cultural and sports activities.
- The four special training classes got off to a successful start on March 1, 2016, enabling suitable candidates to seamlessly transition into regular training programs that has begun in September 2016.
- We had 64 participants at four locations (Erlangen, Berlin, Karlsruhe and Dusseldorf). There of 28 from Syria, 10 from Afghanistan, 5 from Eritrea and the rest from Somalia, Ethiopia, Iran and Pakistan.
- All of these 64 participants had been qualified for further training measures, thereof:
- 60% were accepted for vocational training (18 at Siemens and partners, 20 at external companies)
- 10 participants further go to school for finishing next educational level
- 7 participants got an internship place (with good chances of taken over)
- 9 participants currently still in a selection process for a vocational training] - We're currently in talks with a variety of institutions – such as industry associations, schools and the German Federal Labor Office – to ensure that a proper process is established for integrating refugees into vocational training programs.
Housing:
- Siemens (SRE-DE) is making space available on a temporary basis at 15 different locations throughout Germany to provide refugees with accommodation. For example:
- The city of Munich has rented and partially converted two vacant Siemens buildings at the company's former offices on Richard-Strauss-Strasse, providing accommodation for up to 800 refugees.
- Company facilities at the Frauenauracher Strasse location in Erlangen are now housing up to 70 refugees.
- In Austria, Siemens has made three former office buildings available to the Viennese refugee aid organization Fonds Soziales Wien. These facilities are currently providing accommodation for 300 refugees.
Employee initiatives / Sports:
- Countless employees all across Germany have offered their help and participated in a wide range of donation and aid campaigns (providing, for example, language instruction, assistance when visiting government offices, places in kindergartens).
- We're supporting this employee commitment – by, for example, enabling medical personal such as company doctors to take up to five working days of paid leave in fiscal 2016.
- In Erlangen, Germany, employees have been serving as Communication Ambassadors. The city trains them to help refugees on their arrival and foster greater understanding among local citizens.
- The Siemens sports grounds in Erlangen have been opened for refugees (for example, gymnastics programs for mothers and their children, table tennis). A shuttle bus has also been organized to transport the refugees to the sports grounds. Siemens is cooperating here with the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund aid agency.