Since the beginning of July, the Weilheim employment agency, which is also responsible for the districts of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Starnberg, Landsberg am Lech and Fürstenfeldbruck, has a new boss.
He introduces himself to the readers in an interview.
Weilheim
- When you enter Markus Nitsch's office at the Employment Agency in Weilheim, you think for a moment that you have made a mistake in the building.
The brittle charm of an official office exudes exactly nothing here.
Two of the four walls shine in warm red, large-format Chagall prints catch the eye.
He is probably not a sleeveless picture book official, the new chairman of the management of the Weilheim agency district.
In an interview with the local newspaper, the 60-year-old explains why it is an advantage to be a theologian first and then the head of the labor exchange, how to counter the shortage of skilled workers and why digitization is not a panacea.
You have been the boss here in Weilheim since the beginning of July. Have you arrived yet?
In my first week in Weilheim I took a hotel room here and walked through the city evening after evening.
It is important to get a feel for the region in which you operate.
In the meantime I have arrived safely at my workplace - the new office has just been completed.
Now I'm still looking for a suitable deputy, but that will also work out quickly.
You are a studied theologian, and it was only 20 years ago that you changed jobs and went to the employment agency - a blatant change. Do they benefit from their "previous life"?
If you decide that you no longer want to work as a theologian, the change is always blatant - for better or for worse, you have to start all over again.
But I do think that the experiences I made back then will help me today.
Advice to jobseekers and employers is extremely important today.
A little empathy is guaranteed not to hurt.
In the end, it is our experience that defines us and from which we benefit.
Speaking of experience: You also worked for the Employment Agency in the new federal states for a while, at times when the unemployment figures were extremely high there. Which is more difficult to manage - the lack of jobs in the east or the shortage of workers in Upper Bavaria?
The differences between working in Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt and in Weilheim in Upper Bavaria are less than you might think.
The proportion of people over 50 and the integration of the long-term unemployed into the labor market are challenges here and there that we have to master.
In addition, both are very problematic.
You can of course say that the labor market here is “healthy” because we have a very low unemployment rate.
But that's always a question of perspective.
A school leaver who can choose between at least two different apprenticeship positions with us will certainly say that this is a “healthy” job market.
The company, which would much rather have the choice between two applicants per apprenticeship position, is guaranteed to see it differently.
The shortage of skilled workers is a huge problem.
About the person: Markus Nitsch
Since July 1 of this year, Markus Nitsch has been the new chairman of the management board of the Weilheim employment agency.
In addition to the Weilheim-Schongau district, this also includes the Landsberg am Lech, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Starnberg and Fürstenfeldbruck districts.
He is the boss of a total of 509 employees.
207 of them work directly at the employment agency, and a further 296 employees work in the joint facilities with the municipal authorities - the five job centers.
There are also six young professionals.
The 60-year-old Nitsch has an unusual vita.
Born in Munich, he studied theology in Bamberg and Frankfurt.
He then worked as a theologian for eleven years.
Including two and a half years with drug addicts and alcoholic prison inmates and five years in eastern Turkey.
In 2001 he moved to the Federal Employment Agency.
Nine years ago he took over management tasks for agencies for the first time, before taking over his position in Weilheim, he headed the employment agency in Schwandorf in the Upper Palatinate.
What can you do about it?
Here, too, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
For example, we are increasingly trying to recruit skilled workers in other EU countries - especially in the care sector.
However, the subject of “recruiting skilled workers” here in the Oberland is always closely linked to the fact that companies also have to ensure that living space is available for the workforce.
Otherwise it is important to exploit the existing potential in the region.
Specifically, it is about the “unskilled” or “again unskilled”.
What do you mean by “again unskilled”?
These are people who have completed an apprenticeship at some point, but have not worked in their learned profession for so long that they have to start from scratch.
That's why qualification is a big issue for us - but that only works if the customers want to go along with them.
Good advice is essential.
In the past, the employment agency was not always a synonym for “good advice”, to put it carefully ...
That is certainly not wrong.
But we're working hard to change that.
And have already achieved a lot.
My goal is to get as far as we did with career counseling.
The young people come to us voluntarily and gladly, in the certainty that we are at their side with words and deeds.
Well, nobody comes to the employment agency voluntarily ...
You would be amazed.
We are a service provider - for both employees and employers.
And there are now many cases of people who have a job but are not happy there.
They come to us, sign up "looking for work" and then look at the offers that we can make to them without pressure or worries.
Small trick question: is that also possible online?
(Laughs)
I know what you're getting at.
But I can reassure you: We have made great strides in digitizing our offers.
All of our agents will soon have the option of making contact with customers via video telephony.
That is immensely important in a rural district like ours.
Then people no longer have to come to Weilheim all the time if they don't want to.
In addition, each of our employees can now also work from home and access all systems from there.
Of course we're not where we want to be yet.
We have the same problems as everyone else - due to the delivery bottlenecks, not everyone has a laptop.
But we are consistently taking this step further.
In this way, we want to get to the point where we no longer assign the appointments, but rather our customers book the appointments that suit them.
So are we well on the way to becoming a “virtual employment office”?
That cannot and will not be the goal.
Because although video conferences, e-mails and web applications simplify a lot - in my opinion, personal contact is essential for a relationship of trust between the consultant and the customer.
That is why we recommend that at least the initial interviews be completed personally in order to get to know each other.
Note d. Editor:
Mr. Nitsch had consistently changed his answers.
For reasons of readability, the editors decided that we would not use it.
Of course, we always mean men, women and diverse people alike.
