Solar opens door to Syrian refugees

Given the right opportunities, refugees who come to Denmark have a shot a shaping a life, a future and the feeling of dignity they need to provide for their families and friends. Adding to that the competences the right people can bring to our company; it was not difficult for Solar to make the decision to open our doors to three newcomers to the Danish society.

Abdulmuhsen, Adel, Star and Ibrahim. They are not your typical Danish names, but nevertheless the names of four new colleagues in our central warehouse in Vejen, Denmark. They all have three things in common:

- They are refugees from Syria
- They want to provide for themselves and their families
- They are part of a traineeship with Solar in Vejen

From the left: Ibrahim, Star, Abdulmuhsen and Adel

Work and language training
A refugee can spend up to 26 weeks with Solar in a traineeship that involves both work and language training. It is important for us that they learn to speak Danish, because in addition to understanding the Danish system and their new culture, it will greatly improve their ability to improve their lives and their employment prospects in the long run.

Therefore, the traineeship divides the work weeks into three days of work and two days of language school.

“Our aim is for the trainees to learn Danish so that they can cope in the Danish society and become self-supporting. If we decide to take them on after the traineeship, that’s just great,” says warehouse manager Bent Frisk.

A win-win situation
As a matter of fact, we just recently took in former history teacher Abdulmuhsen on a permanent contract after he completed the traineeship with flying colours. Abdulmuhsen comes from Syria and used to teach history in college.

Head of department Claus Jacobsen gives Abdulmuhsen credit for his way of communicating with his colleagues in Danish: ”He is always all smiles and says hi when we run into him. He has even caught on to the Danish sense of humour.”

Adel, previously a driver in Aleppo, Syria, has joined the shipping department under the management of Orla Keller. Even though learning the language challenges him, he is a help to his colleagues, e.g.  by taping pallets.

At the end of 2016, Star and Ibrahim found their way to Solar in Vejen. Ibrahim works in our packing  department, while Star is part of the high bay warehouse. Both of them have a background within farming, and they make a perfect match to their teams, working hard to pull their weight. Their way of handling themselves impresses manager Peter Bach. “They know that if they learn to speak and understand Danish, we will consider them on equal terms with all others if we have a job opening. We know that Danish is a difficult language to learn, but they give it their best shot, and it pays off.”