Jump to main content
Press Office and Crossmedia Communications
University News
Press Office and Crossmedia Communications 
University News Campus

Counteracting the Shortage of Skilled Workers

Regional project "TalentTransfer Südwestsachsen" enters next phase in July 2021 - focus remains on networking between companies and students and graduates

The “TalentTransfer Südwestsachsen” regional project, in which the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau, the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida, the TU Bergakademie Freiberg and Chemnitz University of Technology have been cooperating for two years, aims to get students and graduates from these universities interested in the regional economy and thus actively counteract the shortage of skilled workers. "In 76 events, the majority of which took place online, more than 2,000 participants were able to find out about starting a career in Saxony and discover 97 regionally based companies," reports Sophie Humpisch, an employee at Chemnitz University of Technology’s Career Service as well as an employee of the "TalentTransfer Südwestsachsen" project at Chemnitz University of Technology.

The spectrum of event formats was wide: informational events (e.g. on the design of application documents) as well as various networking events between companies and students and graduates (e.g. Business Speed Dating, Career Days 2020, SME Day, Media meets SME, SPOTLIGHT series) were successfully held. In addition, an English-language application guide was created to support international students in particular during the application process. In addition, the online tool "CompanyZoom" was designed to increase the visibility of smaller companies with the help of 360° panoramic tours. "Thanks to these measures, the project team has so far been able to attract 55 network partners and enable students to take up internships, work-study jobs, final theses and, ideally, direct job entry," says Sophie Humpisch. 

The second funding phase will begin in July 2021. Over the next two years, formats that were successful in the first phase are to be continued (e.g. the Career Days and the SPOTLIGHT series), among other things. Numerous southwest Saxon companies with their company presentations are to be integrated into the "CompanyZoom" online tool. "In this way, the networking of students with regional companies will be further promoted," says Sophie Humpisch. In addition, she says, there are plans, among other things, to produce videos of partner companies and to create a comprehensive online presence with which all target groups can both find out about current support measures relating to the topic of securing skilled workers in Saxony and be referred to thematically relevant partners. In addition, low-threshold event formats are planned for networking the actors, but their implementation must always be assessed in the context of the current Corona situation.

The project is funded by the Saxon State Ministry of Economics, Labor, and Transport. The funds were made available on the basis of the budget passed by the members of the Saxon state parliament.

For additional information, please contact Sophie Humpisch, employee at the Career Service of Chemnitz University of Technology as well as project collaborator for TalentTransfer Südwestsachsen, E-mail: sophie.humpisch@zwt.tu-chemnitz.de, Phone: +49 (0) 371 531-31795.

(Author: Mario Steinebach / Translation: Chelsea Burris)

Matthias Fejes
20.07.2021

All "University News" articles