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Thousands of jobless to care for German dementia patients

Up to 10,000 long-term unemployed Germans will be trained to care for people suffering from dementia, after a change in the law gave care homes budgets to employ more care workers.

Published: 17 August 2008 12:01 CEST

Thousands of jobless to care for German dementia patients

Photo:DPA

A spokeswoman for the German Employment Agency (BA) confirmed to the Suddeutsche Zeitung on Saturday that groups are already being formed to apply for the training and eventually the jobs.

But care professionals are alarmed, pointing to lesser training schemes for the long-term unemployed. Care expert Claus Fussek told the paper, “You cannot just send anyone to work in this stressful profession.”

A new law which took effect on July 1, means that a care home can employ an extra worker for every 25 dementia patients, and that the cost would be covered by insurance companies.

These extra workers are expected to spend personal time with the dementia sufferers, giving them things to do and taking care of their needs.

But Helmut Wallrafen-Dreisow, of German Age Care said, “Putting dementia care on the same level as painting, reading and going for walks is outrageous.

“The insurance companies always want to get things as cheaply as possible while the homes should continue to meet the highest standards. These things do not fit together.”

The jobless people selected to do the training for dementia care will be given 100 hours of theory instruction, 60 hours of practice and several internships, the Suddeutsche Zeitung said.

In contrast, the training to become a qualified health care assistant takes 900 hours, a spokesman for Germany’s Alzheimer’s Society said.

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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