As a six-year-old, he collected money from passengers on a bus in Syria. Today he works as an accountant at GASAG for one of Berlin’s largest energy suppliers. Mohamad Houria is one of 559,000 refugees who have gained a foothold in the German labor market.
Mohamad Houria’s fingers fly over the keyboard. He clicks through a series of documents in a steady staccato manner, long rows of numbers stretching across the computer screen. “It’ll be over in a minute,” whispers a woman’s voice in the background. Not for Houria. He won’t leave until the job is done – and there’s still plenty to do.
Houria adjusts his glasses. Office supplies are piled up at the neighboring table, coffee cups are piled up next to empty sandwich bags. At Houria’s place, however, there is order. He leans forward, his eyebrows furrowed. Then he puts his computer to sleep with a quick click of the mouse and turns around: “Cigarette break?”
Houria’s workplace is on the sixth floor of GASAG AG in Berlin-Schöneberg. The 26-year-old Syrian has been working as an accountant in the energy company’s finance department since 2020. The tasks come easily to him. “He is conscientious and, above all, fast,” says his boss, Stephanie Ranneberg. When Houria is on vacation, it’s immediately noticeable. “Then everything will take a little longer.” It wasn’t easy to get a permanent contract for him. But in the end it worked. “We are really happy that he can stay with us,” says Ranneberg.
International trainees at GASAG
As one of the city’s largest regional energy suppliers, the GASAG Group has around 1,700 employees. Houria is one of them. To be more precise, he is one of six. In 2016 and 2017, the Berlin company offered a special training program for people with refugee experience. “In the midst of the refugee crisis in 2015 and 2016, we as a company saw ourselves as having a responsibility to help,” remembers Carolin Marggraff. She has been employed at GASAG since 2003 and heads the “Recruiting & Employer Branding” team. “Some colleagues helped out in refugee accommodation during their working hours.” At the same time, management asked itself what integration into the training process could look like: What can the company achieve? What is realistic and really helps in the end?
The model started in 2016 with the first three trainees. The company took a lot of time to make the selection, viewed numerous applications and held intensive discussions. Together with an Iranian and an Afghan, Houria won the race after a two-week internship and began training to become an industrial clerk.
“The key to a country is the language”
With hunched shoulders, Houria stands shivering in the covered reception area of GASAG and takes a drag from his e-cigarette. Peach Ice is written on the small glass container. Houria grins: “Nobody knows for sure whether it’s really healthier than normal cigarettes. But at least it doesn’t smell and your throat doesn’t scratch as much.” Houria’s German is good. Every now and then he pauses for a moment, searching for the right word. Sometimes the sentence structure gets a bit confused. Then he smiles apologetically. A friend once said: “Actually, life is too short to learn German.” Houria did it anyway. The path there was anything but easy.
Houria grew up in Syria as one of five children. He started working at the age of six, collecting money from passengers on his father’s bus rides. Later he helped out in a hairdresser’s shop, worked in a tailor’s shop and in a logistics company. At the age of 18, Houria graduated from high school and began studying. But there is war in Syria. Houria flees to Turkey with his brother. Life there is difficult, staying is not an option. They dare to cross to Greece in a boat. “That was terrible,” recalls Houria. The brothers make their way to Germany on foot and by train and end up stranded in Berlin.
Houria quickly loses hope for a better time. “The most difficult phase actually began after we arrived,” he says quietly. Houria has been living in a gym for over a year. He tentatively covers the bed assigned to him with sheets. “It was like being in a little tent.” Months pass him by in a blur of administrative procedures and bureaucratic jargon. Finally, Houria can register for an integration course. He quickly realizes: “The key to a country is the language.” So he learns.
GASAG also supports its trainees with individual German courses. “Learning German was the be-all and end-all,” emphasizes HR manager Marggraff. From central lessons to group seminars to evening courses: the company has tried every means possible to raise the level as quickly as possible. “In addition to the language hurdles, our trainees also faced this incredible bureaucratic thicket,” she says. “Residence permits, court dates, asylum procedures – we supported our trainees wherever we could.”
Progress in labor market integration
The GASAG program was successful. All six participants complete their training and two still work in the company today. After his takeover, Houria is no longer just one of six. He is also one of around 559,000. A current study by the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research shows: Around 559,000, or 54 percent, of those who fled to Germany in 2015 were employed in 2021. If the stay is extended by one year, the value is even 57 percent.
For Wido Geis-Thöne, these figures are evidence of a positive development. “We are seeing great progress in labor market integration,” says the senior economist for family policy and migration issues at the German Economic Institute in an interview with ntv.de. However, language requirements and uncertain prospects of remaining in the country continued to make the process more difficult.
“It takes the willingness and commitment of the individual companies,” confirms GASAG HR manager Marggraff. Legal reforms that hardly lead to any relief after lengthy procedures would not be enough. Refugee migration alone cannot solve the German shortage of skilled workers. “But our project is a good example of how the investment is still worth it.” No further implementation of the training model is planned yet, but the company is always open to any type of application.
Back in the office, Houria hangs his jacket over the back of the chair and opens the mailbox. “I’ve found a good way to write emails in particularly beautiful German,” he says. To do this, he enters the necessary terms into ChatGPT and the chatbot delivers the formulated message in a matter of seconds. “Know how,” says Houria, laughing. It is certain that he wants to stay at GASAG. Otherwise, he doesn’t plan far into the future; even planning his vacation causes him difficulties. In the future, Houria will be able to travel without restrictions. He has officially had German citizenship for two months. “That was my highlight this year,” he says with a smile.