Students of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) want to sustainably improve the situation of refugees in Germany. For this, they have launched the Welcome2Work employment service platform. It is based on an internet-based multilingual job portal and complemented by a mentor concept. It is aimed at facilitating the search for a job for refugees in Germany and at giving companies access to a pool of applicants, which has hardly been noticed so far. Welcome2Work is a project of the non-profit students’ association Enactus KIT e.V.
“The job portal is available all over Germany, first contacts are being established in the area of Karlsruhe at the moment,” Julian Treichel, Head of the Welcome2Work project, says. “We are now looking for companies, refugees, and volunteers who are interested in joining our project.” Refugees may register on the online platform cost-free and set up their applicant profile or directly apply for vacancies. The profiles are protected and can be accessed by registered companies only. They can directly contact qualified applicants. In addition, an Info-Wiki will be set up to answer basic legal questions. The job portal is available in German, English, French, and Arabic already. Other languages are planned to be added.
The project team of Welcome2Work. (Photo: Hongfei Huang)
If wished by the applicants, Welcome2Work also finds voluntary mentors. “They help the refugees in cultural, legal, and language matters and support them in finding their way around on the labor market. The mentors are instructed through guidelines and trainings,” Treichel says. Cooperation partners, such as training institutions, language schools, legal advisors or consultants for intercultural communication help applicants, mentors, and employers with their expertise.
Crowdfunding – Supporters Wanted
“We would be very happy about any support. In addition, we are open for further suggestions and ideas,” Julian Treichel says. To further the project, Welcome2Work started a crowdfunding campaign on the KITcrowd platform, which will end on February 29, 2016.
Welcome2Work at KITcrowd: http://www.kitcrowd.de/home/projekte-entdecken/campus-community/welcome2work/
More information: http://www.welcome2work.de/en
Contact the project team at: info ∂does-not-exist.welcome2work de
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