How can immigrants get into work or training more quickly and sustainably? And what advisory structures and suitable services are available in Aachen? These were the questions addressed at the event "Focus on labor market integration - networking for advice and support" held at the Nadelfabrik at the beginning of March at the invitation of the City of Aachen's Labor Market Working Group. The focus of the new format for specialists from administration, chambers and educational institutions was on information transfer, personal exchange and stronger local networking.

After a welcome address by Iris Kreutzer from the City of Aachen's Department of Housing, Social Affairs and Integration, Astrid Brokmann, Head of the Aachen-Düren Employment Agency, gave a presentation on the need for skilled workers in the German labor market. It became clear that migrants are already making an important contribution to the German labor market. They have compensated for the negative balance in population development and made a significant contribution to employment growth. Migrants now account for around 16 percent of the workforce in Germany. In many sectors, they have long been indispensable, for example in care, healthcare, the skilled trades and building cleaning.

An important insight from the morning was that successful labor market integration requires more than just job vacancies. Faster procedures, fewer bureaucratic hurdles, more speed in recognition processes and, above all, reliable support for people from their arrival to sustainable employment play a key role. However, functioning networks between the institutions involved are just as important and this is precisely where the event came in.

Over the course of the event, various institutions presented their services and outlined their role in the advisory process. These included the Recognition Advisory Service of the City and CityRegion of Aachen, the Foreigners Authority and the Job Center of the CityRegion of Aachen, the Aachen-Düren Employment Agency, the Chamber of Crafts and the Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Aachen Adult Education Centre, the Debt Counselling Service and Café Zuflucht. The Municipal Integration Management (KIM) and the Competence Center Integration and Work (KIA) also introduced themselves.

At the subsequent "Market of Opportunities", the participants got talking, exchanged experiences and made new contacts. The focus was deliberately on the advisors from the various institutions and their perspectives, questions and experiences from their daily work. The unanimous conclusion was that good labour market integration is most successful when the various stakeholders work closely together, make their services visible and interlink them.