Neuenhaus joint municipality - "Excellent place to live for skilled workers"
The joint municipality of Neuenhaus has once again been recognised by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce as an "Excellent place to live for skilled workers". Frank Hesse, Head of Economic Policy at the Osnabrück - Emsland - Grafschaft Bentheim Chamber of Industry and Commerce, presented the certificate to joint municipality mayor Günter Oldekamp in the town hall.
Hesse pointed out that the Neuenhaus joint municipality had proven during the audit process that it was rightly honoured with the award. "Its efforts to be an attractive place to live and work for skilled workers are exemplary and deserve recognition," said Hesse. Various offers and measures of the joint municipality that are important for skilled workers were examined, including aspects of quality of life, family friendliness and integration.
The childcare services and the services for new residents, especially in the central citizens' office, are particularly noteworthy. Neuenhaus also has a lot to offer in terms of quality of life and the integration of foreign skilled workers. The joint municipality has developed strongly in recent years - examples of this are the SPNV connection and the Ska as a socio-cultural centre. In addition, the comprehensive coverage with a fibre optic network and the expansion of mobile communications should be highlighted.
The fact that the Neuenhaus joint municipality was largely able to fulfil the development goals agreed three years ago as part of the first award also contributed to the renewed award. These included the provision of regular events for new citizens and the expansion of offers that invite dialogue between different cultures.
Mayor of the joint municipality Günter Oldekamp emphasised: "We in the town hall know very well that the so-called soft location factors are important when companies are competing for skilled workers. An attractive place to live is one of them. Where you work, you should also be able to live well."
The Neuenhaus joint municipality's renewed award is limited to five years, after which a new review will take place. Until then, the joint municipality would like to work together with the local companies to develop a welcoming culture for skilled workers and employees, organise a "Festival of Cultures" at regular intervals and examine the introduction of a "welcome package" for new residents. The information available in foreign languages on the website is also to be expanded.
The municipality and IHK offer companies based in the Neuenhaus joint municipality the opportunity to use the quality mark to promote their location and attract skilled workers.
Companies can use the project logo for this purpose and contact the Neuenhaus joint municipality (contact: Peter Oldekamp, p.oldekamp@neuenhaus.de) or the IHK (contact: Christian Weßling, e-mail: wessling@osnabrueck.ihk.de) if they are interested. The quality mark and the use of the logo offer companies the opportunity to emphasise their affiliation to a high-quality location and at the same time strengthen their reputation.
Background:
The "Excellent place to live for skilled workers" audit is an initiative of the Osnabrück - Emsland - Grafschaft Bentheim Chamber of Industry and Commerce. With this instrument, the IHK would like to enter into a dialogue with the municipalities about which strategies and measures are exemplary in order to be an attractive place to live and work for potential new residents. On the basis of a tried and tested questionnaire with 38 questions in five different fields of action, municipalities can obtain certification and thus prove that they have exemplary offers and services for (new) citizens. All cities, towns and municipalities in the Osnabrück-Emsland-Grafschaft Bentheim region can apply for the audit at the IHK. Further information is available at www.ihk.de/osnabrueck (No. 4838444).
Contact person: IHK, Christian Weßling, Tel.: 0541 353-135 or e-mail: wessling@osnabrueck.ihk.de
(from left): First joint municipal councillor Michael Kramer, Jeannette Braakmann from the culture and tourism department, joint municipal mayor Günter Oldekamp and (right) head of the public order office Peter Oldekamp, here with IHK division manager Frank Hesse (2nd from right).