For Zhanbolot Osmonaliev, a long-lived dream has come true. “Even while I was studying for my degree, I had the desire to live in Germany one day. That’s because here you have many opportunities to learn more and develop as a person,” says the electrician from Kyrgyzstan. But before this happened, he gained professional experience working at an energy company in his home country in Central Asia. Since September 2024, he has been working as a shift electrician at the PM3 paper factory in Sandersdorf-Brehna.

In the first nine months at his new workplace, Osmonaliev received intensive training. “We in Kyrgyzstan don’t have as many technical solutions as there are at Progroup. I’ve been able to develop exactly as I wanted here,” he says with great delight. He can now respond independently if any malfunctions occur.

For the HR business partner at the Sandersdorf site, Fanny Körner, skilled workers from other countries such as Osmonaliev are a real bonus. “They’re motivated and also help to make our Progroup spirit stronger,” she enthuses.

She has so far been able to recruit five employees directly from their home countries to work in Sandersdorf. One of the organisations that supports her in doing this is TÜV Rheinland, an experienced service provider for the recruitment of skilled workers internationally. Working together, they not only handle CVs and job interviews, but also provide language skills and help with the bureaucratic hurdles of everyday life.

According to Körner, targeting talented individuals internationally is a valuable tool in recruitment. Especially in the field of paper technology, a highly specialised and future-oriented professional field, you sometimes need to adopt new approaches to find the next generation of suitable workers. “A paper technologist is a challenging job with exciting opportunities for development,” stresses the HR manager.

This was also the view of Hamza -Belhadi, an open-minded young man from Morocco whom Körner first met in August 2024. He immediately expressed enthusiasm about working in the paper industry. “We’ve not regretted our decision to hire him. On the contrary, he’s a great apprentice and colleague who is keen to learn, is hard-working and is fully committed to the task in hand.” Belhadi is also happy. “I really like the training. I’m learning about all the processes that go into papermaking,” he says.

His goal was to integrate well into the team right from the start. To do this, he had to learn the language quickly.

Farzad Rahimi, a power plant engineer from Iran, moved to Germany with his wife and their two children in April 2025. The qualified mechanical engineer previously spent 19 years working at a steam power plant in Karaj, a city with over a million residents located 40 kilometres from Tehran. Today he is overseeing Progroup’s waste-to-energy plant in the final phase before and during commissioning. “I can learn lots of new things, but I also have the opportunity to contribute my own knowledge,” he explains. And this benefits the whole team. Thanks to his experience, he knows exactly what to look out for to make sure that everything runs smoothly. He is often the person who points out potential stumbling blocks. With his expertise and his calm, level-headed demeanour, he is greatly appreciated by his colleagues and has quickly become an important member of the team, both professionally and as a person.

The opportunity to keep learning and developing was another reason why he decided to come here. “Progroup is very innovative. That excites me,” he stresses. Even though he, like his colleagues Hamza Belhadi and Zhanbolot Osmanaliev, has learned the German language quickly and to a good standard, he still wants to improve his language skills even further – especially in a work context. At the end of September, he will participate in training to become a certified boiler operator. This technical qualification requires not only technical expertise, but also accurate language skills. By providing this targeted support, -Progroup is creating a strong foundation to support Farzad’s long-term development within the company.

Employees like Rahimi, Belhadi and Osmonaliev are starting a new life in Germany. With a different culture, a foreign language – and the odd bureaucratic hurdle to overcome. “You can’t do anything here without a tax ID. You can’t open an account, you can’t sign contracts with mobile phone or electricity providers and you can’t get money either,” says Hamza Belhadi in explaining the challenges he has faced on his arrival in his new country.

Arriving in a foreign country involves more than just an employment contract. That’s why it is really important for the Progroup team to make it as easy as possible for skilled workers from other countries to settle in. “For example, we also helped them to find suitable accommodation,” recounts Fanny Körner. And the team is already helping them out when it comes to furnishing their new home. “Most of them arrive with few belongings,” explains the HR business partner. Zhanbolot Osmonaliev appreciates this willingness to help. A colleague even gave him a bicycle.

Körner is convinced: “Our international employees are highly motivated and bring an enthusiasm that inspires us all.” This positive energy has an infectious impact on the whole environment, but this is not the only way that the whole team benefits: the new employees ask questions that other people may also have, but don’t articulate. “This promotes interaction and not only helps the new recruits, but also strengthens the whole team,” the HR manager has noticed. These positive experiences with new colleagues reaffirm Körner’s belief that the company should continue to pursue this approach in the future.

Many thanks must go to the whole team, which displays openness, dedication and a willingness to help to make sure that every single new colleague feels welcome and valued.