A novel approach to capitalise on town twinning arrangements to address the current jobs crisis has been proposed by the Mayor of Castlebar, Ger Deere, who has revealed that the town’s twin of Hoechstadt in Germany is now offering employment to young people from Mayo.
“Job opportunities in Germany are currently open to citizens of Castlebar due to the goodwill that continues to exist between the town and its twin town in Germany, Hoechstadt. Considering the current economic difficulties in Castlebar and throughout Ireland, it is important to utilise the benefits of our twinning here,” Cllr Deere said.
Specifically on offer are job opportunities to young people of at least 18 years of age at SIEMENS, in the fields of predevelopment, developing products and marketing in relation to endoscopes and their steering systems through the human body.
“At the moment we are also employing 22 students between 19 and 29 years of age in the fields electrical engineering, mechanical engineering/construction, computing science, physics, mathematics, Japanese studies, economics, medical technology and medicine”, a SIEMENS representative reported.
According to Mayor Deere who is in contact with representatives from Castlebar's twinned town on a regular basis, the most recent correspondence between parties highlighted the level of unemployment noticed by some Hoechstadt residents when they recently visited Castlebar.
In turn, they then highlighted the employment opportunities for English speakers in Germany and the area of Hoechstadt.
“These twinnings may often be viewed as a mere cultural link but important opportunities also exist. Whether it is simply the exchange of innovative ideas in business or even employment opportunities, it remains important not to ignore these possibilities.”
Mayor Deere said he was additionally informed that English is one of the main business languages used by many local employers in the region so language should not prove a barrier.
“I am by no means trying to encourage anyone to emigrate from Castlebar but many young people in the town are anxious for work experience and employment. It may be worthwhile for them to investigate these opportunities, particularly if they seek gaining important international experience as well as experiencing culture and working knowledge from our twinned friends in Hoechstadt”.
In a proposal to members of the Castlebar Town Twinning Committee, the German counterparts further suggested: “Here in Germany job opportunities at the moment are good for people with university degrees in technical fields/engineering/computer sciences/medicine and for crafstmen e.g. carpenters, mechanics, butchers etc and also in nursing.”
They added that with so many English speaking people working in the larger companies such as SIEMENS and INA Schaeffler, even job interviews are conducted in English while a new primary school has just opened to cater to children of English-speaking workers.
