Their names are Gabrijela, Yasmina, Ana, Gema Maria, Alejandro, Filip, Adrian, Mihael and Antonio, and on Friday, 15 July 2015 they moved into their rooms at their new workplace, the ECOINN Hotel in Esslingen. On 1 September, the three Croatians and six Spaniards will begin their three-year training as hotel specialists; beforehand, the young people are already completing an internship in all departments of the hotel and with the partner businesses, where they will acquire the culinary background in the kitchen and restaurant service.
At the welcome celebration, Deputy Mayor for Finance Ingo Rust, speaking on behalf of the patron of the training project, Mayor Dr Jürgen Zieger, praised the ECOINN team highly for their commitment, as a hotel with 59 rooms would normally only provide two training places.
In his welcome speech, hotel manager Thomas Puchan made it clear that this is the ECOINN’s “European Solidarity Project”, with which the hotel, which belongs to a social enterprise, wants to send a signal for Europe, especially in times of Brexit and stormy seas. “In the past we always employed disadvantaged people who were given an opportunity to work because of long-term unemployment or disability. Now we are turning to young people who are disadvantaged because of where they come from and the extreme youth unemployment there.”
From now on, the nine can feel at home in their own area on the top floor, with their own common room and an integrated shared kitchen. If they have problems in their private lives, the hotel’s own social pedagogue Franziska Rettenbacher is there to help them. University Rector Prof. Dr Maercker, City Initiative board member Alexander Kögel, DEHOGA state board member Waldemar Fretz and hotel association board member Frieder Lempp agreed with the other guests that the pilot project has very good prospects and unanimously wished the project every success.
Last but not least, Waldemar Fretz hoped for an improvement in the staffing situation in the German hotel and restaurant industry: “You don’t have to go home after your training; you are very welcome to continue your career in German hotels!”