About borders and hurdles

At least five million Syrians left their homeland in 2015 to escape the horrors of the Syrian civil war. One of them: Mouhamed Alzaeem, he was 11 years old at the time, and found a new home in Hagen with his family. The lack of language skills was not the only challenge that the now 19-year-old had to confront in a totally foreign country. As a young person, he was forced to make his way in a new landcountry, find a perspective for his own life and do nothing less than build his existence from the ground up thousands of kilometres from his birthplace.

“We fled the civil war in Syria in late 2015,” says Mouhamed. “My father arrived here about a year before us, before my mother, my siblings and I came to Germany.” The family's story is just one among millions of fates, yet one that has a happy ending.

“My father's escape was extremely arduous. He was arrested and sent back several times and spent two days on the high seas in a small boat,” says Mouhamed, describing the desperate and dangerous flightjourney. “When he finally made it to Germany, he had lost a lot of weight, and it took him three months to recover from the ordeal.” The worst thing for Mouhamed and his family was the agonising uncertainty; Mouhamed's father was frequently unable to contact his family for weeks at a time, which made their reunion after a year of separation all the more joyful.

Around eight years after leaving Syria, the Alzaeem family have found their new home in Hagen and feels comfortable and integrated. But these eight years haven’t always been easy; quite the opposite. Mouhamed is convinced that the key to successful integration was always the language. “Learning German was a process that required a lot of time and even more effort,” he remembers. It was a laborious stage that paid off in the end: he has now mastered the language and speaks perfect German and will soon be able to complete his secondary school education.

His next challenges

Mouhamed has come a long way and, having secured his school leaving certificate, has reached the first milestone in his new life. But like so many other young people, Mouhamed suddenly found himself confronted with totally new and existential issuesquestions: "What do I want to be? What are my plans for the future? What career is right for me?" For Mouhamed, these questions were one of the greatest challenges of all. While parents are generally able provide support and guidance, this was far from the case for Mouhamed: “Parents can normally give you advice, suggest options and have contacts who can help you. That was difficult for me, because my family were was struggling to find their feet and make contacts on their own.”

He therefore had to rely on his school for guidance, but the young man would soon have to negotiate the next hurdle in his life in the form of a virus: Covid-19. “The first lockdown came during the 9th grade, which was such bad timing! Many aspects of career orientation were cancelled along with the next stage in my vocational college diploma.” Mouhamed was eventually able to discuss the next step with one of his teachers: “She advised me to explore mechanical engineering.”

With his secondary school certificate under his belt, Mouhamed then did precisely that. In the words of the young man: “I switched to a vocational college, quickly managed to achieve good grades and then received my vocational diploma”. He then decided to train as a cutting machine operator. But where could he apply? “My parents couldn’t really help, so I searched cutting machine operator and apprenticeship on Google. I applied to the four largest companies that offered this type of training, including thyssenkrupp.”

“Everything here is like a family business”

thyssenkrupp was quick to invite Mouhamed to an interview, where he surprised his interviewers with his knowledge of the company. “I did a great deal of research into the history of thyssenkrupp to prepare for the interview, also because I was interested to learn more about the company myself.” Mouhamed impressed thyssenkrupp not only with his extensive knowledge of the company, but also with his motivation, which immediately secured him an apprenticeship. It started one year later and, on 1 August 2022m he embarked on his apprenticeship at thyssenkrupp Hohenlimburg in Hagen.

The first year of Mouhamed's training focused on learning the basics: turning, milling and drilling, which are the fundamentals of metalworking. In the training workshop at the Hagen site, the instructors prepared Mouhamed and the other apprentices for the second step of their apprenticeship: the move to the factories. “This transition phase is crucial,” says Mouhamed, “the change wasn’t easy for us apprentices, because we’re straight out of school and are plunged almost immediately into the world of work.”

Mouhamed is now in the second year of his apprenticeship; a step he has been looking forward to for the whole first year of his training. In addition to two months in the training workshop, the apprentices spend most of the year working in the factories. The 19-year-old is delighted to say that “Everything here is like a family business, and every second apprentice already knows someone who works here. And in the second year of my apprenticeship, I see so many familiar faces who are willing to help you out.”

The next step is already on the horizon

Mouhamed is impressed by the work atmosphere and the feeling of solidarity. “thyssenkrupp is diverse: there are Germans, people with Turkish, Kurdish, Moroccan, Ukrainian and even Syrian backgrounds; people of many nationalities work here. I think that at thyssenkrupp it’s irrelevant where you come from or what your background is.”

Openness, equal opportunities and mutual respect are core values of the corporate culture at thyssenkrupp. This is also emphasised by HR Director, Oliver Burkhard: “Diversity is a success factor. The more diverse the teams, the more successful we can be. We learn from each other and benefit from the creativity and productivity that diversity brings. Every day.

thyssenkrupp regularly sets an example for diversity and thean absence of discrimination through various events, employee networks and other activities. Their policy is that all employees should be able to develop freely and to their full potential, regardless of origin, gender, skin colour, disability, age, sexual orientation, identity or any other characteristics, which is the concept behind “Diversity is #GENERATIONTK”.

In any event, Mouhamed has found his professional home: “I feel very happy at thyssenkrupp,” and if he has anything to do with it, the apprenticeship for a cutting machine operator won’t be the last step in his training: “I really want to stay at thyssenkrupp and definitely continue my education, either as part of my further education or training to be a master craftsman.” Across boundaries and over hurdles; it wouldn’t be the first challenge Mouhamed has overcome.

Are you interested in an apprenticeship at thyssenkrupp? If so, please visit our online apprenticeship microsite to find out more. Rise to the challenge and make thyssenkrupp a little more vibrant and interesting workplace. Apply online at jobs.thyssenkrupp.com.