Since July of 2019 the Ministry of Economics, Labour and Housing Baden-Württemberg is financing and supporting the AEF – Spanische Weiterbildungsakademie e.V. in Hornberg as the sponsor of the Welcome Center Southern Upper Rhine. This is a special institutional acknowledgement for the AEF as an intercultural educational institution and migrant organisation. At the same time, it confirms its intercultural work on the subject of recruiting professional workers from abroad and the integration and development of rural areas in the Black Forest region.

The AEF is present in Hornberg since 2013 and supports above all SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and newcomers with language courses and advisory services. “With the new Welcome Center Southern Upper Rhine, the AEF will offer and systematically expand its know-how to all interested parties in the region,” says Dr. Artur Kalnins, project manager at the AEF – Spanische Weterbildungsakademie e.V. in Bonn.

Among other things, the Welcome Center in Hornberg will perform as a pilot for the recruitment of skilled workers from abroad. The main aim is to promote the recruitment and long-term retention of foreign workers in small and medium-sized enterprises in the region. To this end, various services and advisory services are offered in order to network authorities, associations, clubs and socially committed people in the Southern Upper Rhine region (Ortenau District, Emmendingen County, Hochschwarzwald-Breisgau County, Freiburg City).

“The economic area is characterised by many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector, but also by world-class companies that have their headquarters here. The spectrum is supplemented by numerous crafts, service companies, social institutions and the tourism industry. Our companies, which are often structured in small parts, are overburdened, even when it comes to recruitment, to become active. For the city of Hornberg, the Welcome Center is an enrichment and an ideal complement to our own activities,” says the mayor of Hornberg, Siegfried Scheffold.

In view of the large investment made by the AEF, the Academy is very optimistic about the results and hopes for additional cooperation partners for this project. The Welcome Center is financed to 60% by the state of Baden-Württemberg until the end of 2020. The AEF provides the remaining 40% of the costs by its own funds. Therefore, the Academy also welcomes further cooperation partners in order to work for long-term perspectives in the region for business and society.

If you are interested, please contact:

Dr. Artur Kalnins
Tel: +49 (0) 228 29977980
Mail: kalnins@aef-bonn.de