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Luisa Zenker
The East Saxon energy supplier Saxony Energy with headquarters in Dresden is growing. Since 2017, the workforce has risen from 3,000 to 4,000 - due to the grid expansion for balcony power plants, the planned river waterworks for the large-scale chip settlement and the district heating expansion. All of this requires not only more investment, but also more skilled workers. The energy supplier is therefore investing half a billion euros a year; just a few years ago, the investment volume was between 120 and 150 million, explained Frank Brinkmann, CEO of the energy company, at a press event on Friday. He plans to employ 4,250 people in his company by the end of the year.
This growth strategy faces a demographic problem: 450 Sachsen-Energie employees will be retiring by 2030, but there are not enough young people coming through the ranks. "The technical subjects are dramatically understaffed," says Brinkmann. In electrical engineering courses in particular, the number of new students has fallen sharply. The company is therefore increasingly focusing on internationalization: "We are looking for the best, no matter where they come from, to finance the energy transition."
Internationalization: "Both sides have to move"
Within just a few years, the number of international specialists has risen from two to 42, coming from 28 nations - predominantly from Ukraine, Syria and India. Five percent of new hires are people with a migration background. "You have to turn a traditional company inside out," says Brinkmann, explaining the efforts. For this reason, the company not only offers German courses, but also increasingly English courses. "Both sides have to move," says Thomas Richter, head of the newly created "Relocation Service". This supports international skilled workers with everything from residence permits and driving license registration to family reunification.
Difficult search for accommodation for international professionals in Dresden
Because here, too, bureaucracy is a problem. Thomas Richter has learned that some skilled workers only have a work permit for a very specific company. He has also heard completely new words, such as fictitious certificate. This is used by foreigners in Germany to prove that they have a temporary right of residence. Thomas Richter has also experienced how difficult it is for international skilled workers to find accommodation in Dresden. Sachsen-Energie has therefore rented one-room apartments itself in order to pass them on. With all these efforts, the company seems to have found a decisive advantage, as there is competition between companies for international talent. This will intensify with the major relocation of the chip giant TSMC Sachsen-Energie sees this as a challenge. It is noticeable that a particularly large number of people with academic qualifications and without a refugee background are being hired. The reason for this is the easier recognition of degrees, bureaucratic hurdles and competition with basic public services, says Brinkmann.
