Happy Birthday, Einstieg zum Aufstieg!

300 people placed in jobs: VBKI project celebrates its fifth birthday

"Einstieg zum Aufstieg" is celebrating its anniversary: the non-profit VBKI project was launched exactly 5 years ago. The goal of the initiators from 2019 around Udo Marin, Gerhard Niehaus and Berliner Sparkasse: to place people with refugee experience in the Berlin labor market. Since then, the project team, which consists of two permanent employees, has succeeded in placing around 300 people in jobs, internships, training and further education - from cleaners to management assistants. In the current year alone, around 100 people have been placed in jobs - with around 500 applications supported by "Einstieg zum Aufstieg" 2024 in total.

"Berlin is a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of people who have fled war or persecution. We want to support these long-suffering people in leading a self-determined life. In our view, access to work is a key prerequisite. We are proud and happy that, despite bureaucratic hurdles, language barriers and cultural differences, we have managed to successfully integrate numerous people with refugee experience into the Berlin labor market," said VBKI Managing Director Ute Weiland at a ceremony.

In its placement efforts, the VBKI relies on its extensive network in the Berlin economy. VBKI member companies report their vacancies to "Einstieg zum Aufstieg" and the project team then takes over the targeted job matching. The two employees can draw on a network of more than 70 cooperation partners in the social economy as well as an independently established "talent pool" of almost 1,000 jobseekers with a refugee background. The Einstieg-zu-Aufstieg team provides its advisory services in four languages: German, English, Ukrainian and Russian.

You can find more information about "Einstieg zum Aufstieg" at www.einstiegzumaufstieg.de