“Integration is no mere add-on; rather, it’s the key to success. Effective integration fosters loyalty and stability and secures the employment of skilled workers in the long term.”
– Melanie Schwarzbach, Head of Education at amesol akademie
The immigration of international professionals is far from over with their mere. International skilled workers usually arrive in Germany well prepared: they have learnt the language, researched life and work in Germany, and bring a wealth of specialist knowledge with them.
However, this is not where it ends: language skills, for example, must continue to be developed even after arrival, and above all, the entire environment must support the skilled worker’s integration. Employers and colleagues can play a major role here, but of course the skilled worker themselves must also contribute.
It is also important to mention, however, that every international skilled worker is a person who has left a lot behind to make a life and a career in Germany possible. It takes a huge amount of courage to leave one’s home country for an uncertain future. Every employer can be certain that international skilled workers, too, have a strong interest in integrating successfully and being able to stay in Germany.
We spoke to Melanie Schwarzbach, Head of Education at the amesol akademie, about how the various stakeholders – employers, colleagues and skilled workers – can contribute to successful integration.
How important is integration when recruiting skilled workers?
Melanie Schwarzbach: Integration is no mere add-on; rather, it’s the key to success. Without successful integration, recognition processes fail, teams are put under strain and skilled workers leave again (revolving door effect). Effective integration fosters loyalty and stability and secures the employment of skilled workers in the long term.
What can employers do to facilitate the integration of international skilled workers?
Melanie Schwarzbach: Employers can make a substantial difference by taking a structured approach to integration: clear responsibilities, prepared teams, qualified practical guidance, time for learning and reflection – and an attitude that enables (further) development rather than facilitating overload and overwork.
“International skilled workers achieve an enormous amount: they learn a new language, work within a new system and build a new life for themselves – all at the same time.”
Melanie Schwarzbach, amesol akademie
What do skilled workers need to do themselves?
Melanie Schwarzbach: International skilled workers achieve an enormous amount: they learn a new language, work within a new system and build a new life for themselves – all at the same time. Simultaneously, integration is a professional learning and working process in which employers are also entitled to set out clear and transparent expectations.
What is important is a willingness on the part of skilled workers to reflect, learn and actively contribute – as well as reliable, non-judgemental expectation management on an equal footing by the organisation. Integration succeeds where expectations are stated early on, reflected upon together and understood as part of a shared development process. Successful integration is teamwork – not a one-way street.
How can colleagues in the workplace deal with cultural differences?
Melanie Schwarzbach: The most important step is curiosity rather than judgement. Cultural differences are not a disruptive factor, but a resource, when teams learn to talk about them, clarify expectations and address misunderstandings early on.
amesol provides professional support for such processes: with an interdisciplinary team of educators and psychologists, we help teams develop confidence in dealing with diversity, facilitate reflection and establish sustainable forms of collaboration.
What personal barriers do skilled workers face when integrating in Germany?
Melanie Schwarzbach: Many experience a lack of confidence when it comes to the language, loneliness, legal uncertainty and intense pressure to perform. Added to this is the feeling of constantly having to prove oneself. This is precisely where safe spaces, guidance and reliable support are needed.
What support services are particularly helpful for immigrants?
Melanie Schwarzbach: Continuous support, practical language training, coaching, spaces for reflection and designated contact persons within the organisation are particularly effective. It is crucial that support is offered not only when problems arise, but right from the start.
“A rethinking is needed: a signed contract is merely the starting line for skilled-worker recruitment, not the finish line.”
Melanie Schwarzbach, amesol akademie
In your opinion, what needs to change to ensure that integration is taken into account right from the start of the skilled worker recruitment process?
Melanie Schwarzbach: Integration must be systematically planned for and funded – not treated as a voluntary extra. A rethinking is needed: a signed contract is merely the starting line for skilled-worker recruitment, not the finish line.
Is it necessary to provide employers with more information about what skilled labour immigration entails?
Melanie Schwarzbach: Many employers are confronted with the high level of complexity and responsibility associated with skilled labour migration. Good information creates realistic expectations, prevents discontinuations – and is the key to sustainable integration rather than short-term solutions.
What does the amesol akademie do?
amesol views skilled migration as a process of education and development at the interface between individuals and organisations. The focus lies on learning, skills development and professional competence – in technical, linguistic and psychosocial terms.
Melanie Schwarzbach explains: “We support international skilled workers during a phase of high learning demands by providing clear structures, reflective learning environments and relationship-oriented teaching methods. At the same time, we empower teams, on-the-job trainers and managers to design quality-assured learning and integration processes within their day-to-day work. Our aim is to guide people step by step towards professional responsibility and to strengthen organisations in such a way that integration succeeds in the long term.”
About the author
Katharina Weckend, Content & SEO Manager
Katharina joined lingoking as a Content and SEO Manager in 2024. She handles our content and SEO strategy and writes texts for our website, guide and other lingoking media. “I am happy I get to pass on knowledge in our lingoking guide and help break down language barriers.”
