"My goal was the recognition of my professional qualification!"

Faisal Hamdo fled Syria three years ago and is today back in his job as a physiotherapist.

In Syria, he completed a physiotherapy training course. Faisal Hamdo, who comes from the embattled city of Aleppo, worked as a volunteer in various provisional hospitals in his home city until 2014 – the moment he decided to flee to Europe. Once arrived in Hamburg, he initially worked in the care of the elderly. But he wanted more.

At first, he passed the language examinations for health professions at the "passage GmbH" in the IQ network Hamburg - NOBI. 27-year-old Faisal Hamdo aced this part of the training. Afterwards, he attended a five-month Adaptation Qualification Program (APQ) at the UKE Academy of Education and Career and was already able to demonstrate the skills required for his profession in 2015. Already during his language courses, he completed an internship in a physiotherapy practice and was accepted immediately after his APQ as a recognized specialist. In March 2016, he moved to the University Hospital in Eppendorf and worked there in the intensive care unit.

Above all, Faisal Hamdo benefited from the good cooperation between the responsible health authorities and the subprojects in the IQ network Hamburg - NOBI. Rico Schmidt, spokesman for the Hamburg Department of Health and Consumer Protection, explains how it works: "Our colleagues exchange information and discuss the procedure for each individual case."