Ralf Sammeck, member of the executive board of Koenig & Bauer and director for the Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed business unit, is pleased to welcome Zarah (2nd from left) and Ali Yaser Hussaini (right) in the vocational training workshop in Radebeul. Senior instructor Raphael Malz (left) is responsible for the basic metalworking training.

Welcome culture in action

• Twins from Afghanistan begin vocational training to become mechatronics technicians
• Signal for equal opportunities and tolerance
• Supporting the integration of young people with a migration background into economic life

For Zarah and Ali Yaser Hussaini, it was more that just the start of a new phase in their life. The twins began their vocational training at Koenig & Bauer in Radebeul in mid-February. They had already found a new home in Saxony after arriving in Germany from Afghanistan in 2015 and 2016. Over the years since, the two young refugees have learned German and successfully completed their school education. And now they have opted to start a four-year dual training programme which combines a vocational qualification in mechatronics with the Abitur advanced-level school certificate. The latter is a prerequisite for access to higher education. The practical sections of this training have already started at the Koenig & Bauer plant in Radebeul. For the theory classes, they will be visiting the Vocational School Centre for the Electrical Trades in Dresden.

Ralf Sammeck, member of the executive board of Koenig & Bauer and director for the Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed business unit in Radebeul, was especially pleased to be able to welcome his two new trainees. “We have markets all over the world. It is thus only natural for our company to employ people from the most diverse backgrounds, irrespective of their faith and cultural roots. That is our own small contribution to open-mindedness, tolerance and integration.”

Koenig & Bauer already provided vocational training to two young refugees from Pakistan in 2015. In the meantime, they have completed their qualifications as mechatronics technicians and are working in the sheetfed offset assembly department. Overall, Koenig & Bauer employees people from eleven different countries.

In broader society, too, Koenig & Bauer demonstrates commitment to democracy and tolerance, for example as a member of the association “Businesses for a Cosmopolitan Saxony”. Through this initiative, it shares the experience gained from its activities in international markets with other companies in the region, and supports concrete measures to promote the integration of refugees and migrants in local business and industry.