Specific examples, practical recommendations

Starting position/challenge

Companies that have recognised foreign skilled workers as potential for their own operation would like to hire them quickly and without all the bureaucratic red tape. They are confronted with numerous formal questions, such as: ‘What do I have to consider when I want to employ people who do not have an EU passport?’, ‘Can I hire asylum seekers at all?’, ‘Do certain prerequisites have to be fulfilled for an internship?’, ‘Which authorities and projects promote labour market integration?’. If entrepreneurs or human resource managers have not yet had any experience with migrant workers, they lack knowledge about what needs to be done to employ them in their company. For fear of bureaucratic hurdles, people with foreign citizenship are often not considered for employment and potentials are lost.

Implementation of the brochure

In order to overcome these obstacles, the goal was to create an informational brochure, which highlights the most important residential regulations for people with foreign citizenship with simple language and illustrations. The challenge was to work out the overlap of information that is really important and relevant to the business community, so that it is easy to understand and still provides enough information. The brochure is intended to provide the relevant information for orientation purposes and provide guidance on current legal processes and requirements. It encourages the recruitment of foreign workers. The conceptual design of the brochure was worked out at several work meetings in cooperation with relevant stakeholders from the field of support for skilled labour in Brandenburg. A lawyer ensured the legal compliance. The brochure was developed as part of the subproject ‘IQ Counselling Centre for Employers’ in the Network IQ Brandenburg, which is supported by bbw Bildungswerk Ostbrandenburg GmbH.

Summary

The steps required to be taken by the employer are presented based on concrete examples. The guide conveys the steps from the recruitment of foreign skilled workers to the legal employment in the company in an intuitive way and with examples, pictures and practical tips from everyday operations. The possibilities for recruitment of people living in Germany with migration history, people in asylum proceedings, as well as applicants from abroad with visa procedures are described. It turns out that the bureaucratic obstacles, which are often feared, can be overcome relatively easily with appropriate preparation. The sixth edition was revised in accordance with the new Integration Act and examined for legal integrity.