Mainz 05 supports refugees on their way into a career
The ten participants of the first vocational orientation course of the “Welcome to Football” project in Mainz proudly received their certificates during the graduation ceremony at the Opel Arena.
Over a period of 18 weeks, the young people from Afghanistan and Syria, who have been living in Germany for up to four years and were in their pre-vocational training year at schools in Mainz until the summer, had gathered valuable experience about working life in Germany and about opportunities to start their careers in the near future.
At the beginning of the project, the young people discussed their wishes and expectations regarding future jobs before instructors of the Mainz University of Applied Sciences held training sessions for job interviews with them. Online application training was also part of the programme. “We thought much about our career goals and have now a better and clear vision, what we must do in order to achieve our goals”, so participant Amir Omar.
Mainz 05 is aware of its responsibility
Several partners and sponsors provided a comprehensive practical insight. Some of them are offering participants internships during the summer holidays. The various excursions that have been organised and the good atmosphere that prevailed during the course will be remembered by Omar: “We have all become very good friends because we also play football together.”
Dr. Michael Welling, Director Marketing & Sales at Mainz 05 and also responsible for CSR, says: “Mainz 05 is aware of its social responsibility. We see a commitment to social and ecological issues as part of our DNA and take our social responsibility seriously in a large number of projects. Although the project that has now been completed was also new for us, we supported it with great enthusiasm. We are very pleased that we were able to contribute to the success with our network and the commitment of our employees and it fills us with pride to have assisted the young people on their way to a career.”
“Welcome to Football” is a programme of the German Children and Youth Foundation, initiated and supported by the DFL Foundation and the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration.
