‘Without GIZ’s support, we wouldn’t have had the confidence to do it.’

Christine Arlt is Head of Human Resources and Development at MAN Truck & Bus Deutschland GmbH, a sales arm of the commercial vehicle producer MAN. In her role, she is responsible for recruiting new people with the appropriate skills. One of those recruits is Baha Eddine Boukachata. A qualified mechanic, Baha comes from Tunisia but now works in Braunschweig at one of MAN’s vehicle servicing and repair centres. We asked them to tell us about their experience of the project.

Ms Arlt, why does MAN recruit skilled workers from other countries? And what’s the reason for teaming up with GIZ?

We train vehicle mechanics at all our workshops every year. It’s a very successful programme, but nowadays we can’t find all the additional skilled workers we need that way or by recruiting on the German and European market. So we looked into how we could attract people with the right skills from other countries outside Europe.

That’s when we found out about the project run by GIZ. We were really keen to find a reliable partner that we could work with. As soon as GIZ explained how its THAMM project works and how it’s organised, we were keen to get involved.

Mr Boukachata, what brought you from Tunisia to Braunschweig?

I worked as a mechanic for three years in Tunisia. When I heard about the opportunity to come to Germany, I was interested straight away. For a mechanic, the idea of working in Germany is very attractive. The whole process was very smooth thanks to GIZ. I passed a level B1 language course while I was still in Tunisia and started a B2 course as soon as I came to Germany. I’ve been working as an HGV mechanic in Braunschweig for about eight months.

Ms Arlt, can you talk us through the recruitment process?

We teamed up with GIZ back in early 2023. The first eight mechanics from Tunisia came over to Germany at the end of last year. They are now employed in our servicing and repair workshops. For us, it’s really valuable to have GIZ as a partner on the ground over there. GIZ puts us in touch with the right contacts, selects people with the appropriate skills, organises language courses and arranges intercultural training. It also helps us deal with the bureaucracy, for example visa applications and the recognition process. Most of all, we’re keen for our recruits to have a good knowledge of the language to help them settle in when they come to Germany. Without GIZ’s support, we wouldn’t have had the confidence to just go ahead and start recruiting people from outside Europe.

The skilled workers who join us also get a lot of support from colleagues. All our recruits have a designated contact to help them get used to their new environment. I’ve worked abroad myself, so I know how much easier it is if you have someone looking after you when you arrive. We want to show the new members of our team that they are welcome.

Mr Boukachata, how have you found working and living in Germany? Is it different from Tunisia?

In Tunisia I used to repair cars. Here in Germany, I work with HGVs. That involves reading error messages and then repairing any faults in the vehicle. The work is more or less the same. My workmates have been very welcoming and have helped me to get up to speed. I live in a shared flat. MAN helped me to find accommodation and with all the arrangements. I’m very happy in Germany. I want to stay here and build a future for myself.

Ms Arlt, MAN Truck & Bus Deutschland GmbH recently signed an integrated development partnership agreement with GIZ. What exactly does that involve?

Our top management are very satisfied with this recruitment initiative and have already asked us to find more skilled workers. That’s why we want to consolidate our partnership with GIZ and have signed a cooperation agreement for the next two and half years. Over that time, our goal is to attract roughly 50 skilled workers from North Africa for our servicing and repair workshops in Germany. As part of the arrangement with GIZ, we’re also planning to offer additional online training courses that recruits can take while they are still in their home country. We’re working right now on a programme that will allow new colleagues to undergo three weeks of intensive technical training, either before or shortly after they start in Germany, to ensure that they are as well prepared as possible for the kind of day-to-day tasks they will be expected to perform in our workshops. It’s a new approach for us as a company, but we’re convinced that it’s the right way forward and so we’re putting a lot of energy into it.

About the programme

There are currently almost two million skilled worker vacancies in Germany. Against this backdrop, many companies are looking to attract skilled workers from other countries. One of those companies is the commercial vehicle producer MAN, which has been working with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH since 2023 on a project to recruit qualified workers from North Africa. GIZ runs similar projects in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia with the goal of establishing fair and safe migration channels for skilled workers and apprentices. For placements in Germany, GIZ cooperates with the Federal Employment Agency, chambers of commerce and business associations. The THAMM Plus project was commissioned by the German Development Ministry (BMZ) and is cofinanced by the European Union.