"CareerHere" in the Upper Lusatia region

With the coal phase-out scheduled for 2038, many people in Upper Lusatia are concerned about the competitiveness of an entire region. The “Upper Lusatia Labor Market Network” (NAMO for short) is taking action: Through the “KarriereHier” project, 20 German and Polish high school students were prepared for entrepreneurship in their home regions—including in the field of renewable energy.

Twenty-one partner organizations—ranging from employment agencies to state legislators, entrepreneurs, and associations, as well as private educational institutions such as the DPFA Academy Group—offered eleventh-grade students at the Christoph Lüders Vocational High School in Görlitz and the Polish DPFAHigh School in Zgorzelec the opportunity to gain practical business knowledge—which is often neglected on the path to the Abitur—through a two-month program. This gives them insights into how to go about starting a company or taking on economic responsibility. The goal is to inspire good-educated high school graduates to get involved in their region.

DPFA Regional Manager Prof. Gerald Svarovsky emphasizes the importance of this generation for the region’s future direction following the coal phase-out: “The project participants will enter the job market around 2025 to 2030, after completing their vocational training and college studies. By then, they will be ideally positioned to take on responsibility for the transformation processes in Upper Lusatia.”

Olaf Besser is an authorized signatory at the energy technology company Yados in Hoyerswerda. Like five other partner companies—including those in the food and mechanical engineering industries—he has invited the students to observe the operations at his company. Besser adds goodly: “There’s constant public talk about a lack of prospects. Yet this completely overlooks the fact that such a transformation offers opportunities to make a mark—especially for young people, who can freely develop their potential within the flatter hierarchies of small-to-medium-sized enterprises.”

In addition, the high school students attended eight theoretical sessions at various locations in Görlitz, Bautzen, Zgorzelec, and Hoyerswerda. On Tuesday, June 18, the closing ceremony for “KarriereHier” took place at the Wichernhaus in Görlitz. Thomas Jurk (SPD), former Saxon Minister of Economic Affairs and current member of the Bundestag, delivered the keynote address. The high school seniors presented their insights from the company visits. Accompanied by guitar music and a light buffet, entrepreneurs and students had the opportunity to continue their discussions.

The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences is actively involved in “KarriereHier,” thereby supporting the region’s next generation of talent. Hartmut Paetzold and Davis Sauer took it upon themselves to personally lead the “Management Training” module.