A future for international skilled workers in Saxony

Saxony is desperately seeking skilled workers. Politicians, business leaders and academics from the Free State are heading abroad in search of them. Not everyone immediately thinks of Chile – the country in western South America with its 6,000-kilometre-long Pacific coastline. Yet relations are good, and there is considerable interest amongst young Chileans in a future in Saxony. This is partly due to the fact that seven vocational schools in the capital, Santiago de Chile, have launched a dual vocational training programme modelled on the German system – that is, a practical combination of in-company and school-based training. In addition, German language support is provided at the local Goethe-Institut. All of this has already enabled the first graduates to embark on professional careers in Saxon companies.

From 12 to 22 August 2024, a 16-strong delegation comprising representatives of SOFOFA, Chile’s largest industrial association, as well as teachers and school leaders, visited the Chemnitz region. The programme, supported by the Chemnitz Skilled Workers’ Alliance, also included a visit to Mittweida University of Applied Sciences on 16 August. The presentation of the university and, in particular, the visits to the television studio and the Laser Institute at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences rounded off the visitors’ impression of Saxony as a region of the future. Here, small and medium-sized enterprises and applied research work together on innovations – and are also jointly committed to attracting young skilled workers from abroad.