Business

JOBLINGE—Joint Forces to Support Integration through Empowering the Youth

Disadvantaged young people obtain sustainable jobs thanks to CSR Initiative

August 31st, 2018
Min-ni Wu, News from Berlin
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Founded in 2008 by the Boston Consulting Group and BMW’s Eberhard von Kuenheim Foundation, the private, public, and volunteer sectors work together to help disadvantaged young people obtain sustainable jobs.

Despite the lack of skilled workers in Germany, 500.000 youths struggle to find suitable jobs or apprenticeships. JOBLINGE was therefore created, aiming to address youth unemployment. The initiative offers to prepare the underprivileged youth, (between the ages of 15 and 24) to join the German job market sustainably. The goal is to realize their potential and enable them to be self-sufficient in the long term.

Celebrating their 10-year-anniversary this year, the six-month program has helped more than 5000 young people to get training and job placements. This joint initiative, supported by the government, businesses and volunteers together, is providing a fast, cheap and effective way to tackle the problem. By doing so, the program claims to save government spending up to €140,000 per sustainably placed participant.

JOBLINGE presents an alternative method to support integration. According to its website, more than 60% of the participants are children of immigrants or refugees. Additionally, a specialized program, JOBLINGE Kompass, was created for young refugees. The program includes one-on-one support from volunteer mentors, assistance for communicating with the authorities, language courses and intercultural training. The program is able to introduce the culture of the German market to immigrants and provide help for them to better integrate.

The JOBLINGE initiative shows an example of how the private sector, the public sector, and the volunteer sector can contribute jointly to support people from different cultural backgrounds and address the social challenges we have in today´s society.

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News from Berlin