• Living and working in Germany for a year
• Gaining personal and work experience

As a global industrial services provider, Voith Industrial Services offers its employees exchange programs which give them the opportunity to live and work abroad for a limited amount of time. Two Voith employees from the Pune location in India participated in such a program. They are returning to their home country in November 2015 after having lived in Germany for one year.

Settling in and working in Leipzig
The 27-year-old degreed electrical engineer from Sagar in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, and the 29-year-old degreed mechanical engineer from Kanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, came to Leipzig in Germany in the fall of 2014. The exchange program started with a German language course and driving lessons in which the Indian engineers learned the specifics of German road traffic before starting to work at the Leipzig location of Voith Industrial Services.

At their place of work, a paint shop at a car plant in Leipzig, the Voith engineers carried out maintenance activities. In addition to supporting maintenance and troubleshooting on the equipment Voith Industrial Services takes care of (e.g. conveyors, ventilation system, paint supply, wastewater treatment), they mainly contributed technical solutions and helped improve maintenance measures.

The German employees benefited from the two engineers’ extensive experience, which they had gained in an Indian automotive plant from 2011 and 2012. The vivid exchange concerning topics like work safety and maintenance measures with the aim of ideal availability of plant and equipment was particularly helpful for everyone involved. In addition, the German employees were given interesting insights into Indian culture when socializing with their Indian co-workers after work.

Getting to know the country and its people
Voith Industrial Services provided the two engineers with a completely furnished apartment for their stay in Leipzig. Furthermore, the two engineers received support from Realdomus, an agency who advises employers and their employees who live and work abroad for a while. In its function as relocation services provider, Realdomus supported the Voith employees throughout the acclimatization process, for example with regard to government registrations.

The Indian Voith engineers organized their lives in Germany completely on their own after some initial help and integrated well into German society. They used every opportunity, for example shopping for necessities, to practice their German and get to know the country and the people. In their free-time they traveled to Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and Prague and visited the Zugspitze, the Europa-Park and the Saxon Switzerland National Park.

Donation to FAIRbund
Shortly before returning home in autumn 2015, the two engineers from India and their employer, Voith Industrial Services, donate their furniture and other furnishings to the nonprofit association FAIRbund. FAIRbund is a private youth welfare service agency in Leipzig and has supported children, young people and families since 1993. The association’s main tasks are protection, consultation and support as well as solving crises together and providing professional support in any family-related matters.

The furnishings will benefit two young people in the Leipzig region who have just started to live on their own. The two Indian engineers see this gesture as a little thank you to Germany.

About Voith Industrial Services:
Voith Industrial Services, a Group Division of Voith GmbH, is one of the leading providers of technical services for key industries such as the automotive, rail, energy, chemical and petrochemical industries and of engineering services. In 2013/2014, the company generated sales of €1.18 billion with about 18,500 employees at more than 170 locations worldwide.

About REALDOMUS®:
The owner of the relocation services agency REALDOMUS, which was founded in Leipzig in 2010, CHristoph Neumann, lived in Russia and the Ukraine for more than 12 years with interruptions and visited Eastern Europe, the Baltics and the Balkans several times. From his own experience he knows about the challenges of multiple family moves and is aware of life in a different culture. He uses his experience when supporting foreign skilled employees and executives.

About FAIRbund:
FAIRbund is a Leipzig-based nonprofit institution offering a wide range of services including support with education and upbringing (day-care group, group home, home visits), custodianships, family education, support for families with newborns, the operation of four day-care centers, child day-care, school social work, educational and family counseling, projects with partners in Europe and projects with volunteers.