What does it take to keep young media professionals in Thuringia? And how can Thuringian companies specifically counteract the shortage of skilled workers? These were the topics discussed at our second MENT MasterClasses panel as part of the Medien BarCamp Erfurt.

The panel included Kai Schöttle from bigchild Entertainment GmbH as a representative of employers, Joanna Pawlaczek from the Thuringian Agency for Skilled Labour Recruitment, which advises both companies and skilled workers, and master's student and working student Celina Erler, who is herself training as a skilled worker in Thuringia.

Potential that is still underutilised

As Celina reported, in her experience there are still too few companies in the Thuringian media sector that offer working student positions – even though these are a real win-win situation. They offer students a great opportunity to gain professional experience and provide companies with a flexible and cost-effective resource. And working students also pay off in the long term, according to Joanna: many remain loyal to the company, which saves on recruitment costs. The ThAFF representative also sees a lot of potential in the area of international students, which is still too rarely exploited. More exchange, strong regional networks and role models are needed here.

Cooperation between business and universities

Kai also encouraged other entrepreneurs to actively approach universities and, for example, offer courses or collaborations on topics that are relevant to young professionals from a business perspective and necessary for successfully integrating graduates into the Thuringian labour market. And students and employers can also take away these three points:

👉🏻 Future professionals do not only pay attention to salary and work-life balance: above all, an employer's political stance on diversity and against racism is very important to many young people when looking for a job.

👉🏻 Companies that do not make standard offers to their applicants, but respond to individual needs (such as assistance in finding accommodation) score highly.

👉🏻 Job hunting is networking: the more people know what you can do and what you are looking for, the more opportunities will open up.

You can find out more about ThAFF's services and its extensive job board here.

You can find out more about the other topics covered in the MENT MasterClasses in our newsroom.

Click here for the general article about the Media BarCamp.