Cogs & ReDI School helping refugees integrate and improve their employment potential

Finding a job can be tough in a dynamic, competitive market like Germany. This is especially so for new immigrants to the city – struggling with language barriers and cultural differences are just some of the challenges to work. How can a talent agency help you find and integrate on the job?

ReDI School of Digital Integration is a non-profit digital school for tech-interested newcomers in Germany. Back in 2017 Cogs saw the incredible work ReDI was doing for young people and with their knowledge of talent shortages for digital jobs across the country, they knew there was space for a brilliant collaboration.

The first event offered interview coaching, CV doctoring, social media training and more, Q&A preparation and much more. It was a huge success.

The next logical step was to explore ways to get these very bright, motivated and ambitious students in front of potential employers to test those skills. Last week Cogs and ReDI joined forces again for a Tech Speed Dating event, bringing together some of the leading digital and tech companies together with the ReDi School students.

Kimberly Bohle (Associate Director, Cogs Berlin) explains why it was so important to her to be a part of this project:

“I too came as a foreigner to Berlin many years ago. I know what it is like not to know the language and have to build up everything from scratch. I was given many wonderful opportunities along my path and I would like to give that back. I was so touched how appreciative the students were for the opportunity to meet potential employers. Many came up to me and thanked me for making this possible”

Students were given an extraordinary opportunity to pitch themselves, ask questions and share their CVs with HR and hiring managers from selected digital agencies, innovation hubs and tech start-ups across Germany.

Following the event, Anne Riechert (Founder and Managing Director of ReDI School) said,

“Connecting tech talents with work opportunities is at the core of ReDI School. It was incredible to experience the high energy and hope that was in the room. I hope this day will prove to be a turning point in the career of many of our students, and that the participating companies found future colleagues and had an eye-opening experience”

There were a total of 9 companies interviewing, 3 professionals giving on-site support, and 31 students/ applicants who took part in this event with huge success.

The companies were impressed with the talented applicants they met and the students thrived on this amazing opportunity.

James Hobson, CTO, Diconium Digital Solutions, one of the businesses at the event was really pleased with the outcome of the event: “Our impression was generally very positive. Good mix of people with different backgrounds and skills. We would participate in such an event again. Candidates were mixed, a few in my view had rather poor language skills and many have only had the most basic of IT training. However, as a place to get Interns and juniors, I think it was a good mix. There were a few more senior people as well. We are in discussion with a few :)”

The students found the event hugely beneficial, with excellent feedback from each of them. Mustafa Fateh (Student of ReDI School, Cyber Security) said “It was amazing. So many great companies participated in the event and interviewed us. The atmosphere was very comfortable. I was surrounded by friends. The roles offered were also very interesting. I am in touch with a few companies regarding further steps. I would be happy to participate in this event again”

Social responsibility is part of our DNA at Cogs and fits perfectly into our company mission.

Hosting events such as this and supporting talent from all backgrounds is immensely important to us and something we strive to do more of.

Cogs would like to thank all the companies and students involved in the event and everyone for their hard work to make this event such a success.

Interested in collaborating with us on any CSR initiatives? Looking for talent or work opportunities? Perhaps you want to join our team in Berlin? Reach out at kontakt@cogsagency.com