JOBDAY at the FernUni: Bridge between education and skilled workers!

JOBDAY at the FernUni: Bridge between education and skilled workers!

On July 9, 2025, Vice Rector Prof. Osman Isfen opened the JOBDAY at the FernUniversität in Hagen. He emphasized the central importance of the FernUni in academic education and its responsibility in society. Isfen emphasizes that the FernUni serves as a place for lifelong learning for all age groups and therefore plays an important role in the education sector.

The JOBDAY aims to bring companies, employees and job seekers from the region together. The mayor of Hagen, Erik O. Schulz, described the event as an important opportunity to combat the shortage of skilled workers. The collaboration between the FernUniversität and institutions such as the mark agency, the SIHK zu Hagen, the Märkischer Employers' Association, the Hagen Employment Agency and the Hagen Job Center shows the commitment to effectively meeting the challenges on the labor market.

Diverse offer for participants

JOBDAY offers a wide range of activities, including informative lectures, advice and job speed dating with various companies. These formats are intended to promote networking between job seekers and employers.

Daniel Terzenbach, board member of the Federal Employment Agency, emphasized the need for lifelong learning in a podcast. He sees the training and further education of employees as crucial to combating the shortage of skilled workers in the long term. Terzenbach also advocates controlled immigration in order to secure economic growth and prosperity in Germany.

As part of his experience in integrating refugees into the labor market, Terzenbach emphasizes how important it is to change the attitude of public institutions. He calls for a rethink in the authorities in order to improve support for people looking for a place in the labor market and attaches great importance to valuing the life and work performance of refugees.

Current challenges in the education system

The National Education Report, presented on June 17, 2024, highlights the current challenges of the German education system. Two years since the last report, the figures show a worrying rise in school dropouts. In 2022, 52,300 young people left school without a qualification, which corresponds to 6.9 percent of their peers.

Last year the proportion was 6.2 percent and a steady increase has been observed since 2020. Education spending in Germany increased by 46 percent over the last ten years to 264 billion euros in 2022. Nevertheless, recruiting specialist staff in the education sectors remains a significant challenge. An alarming sign is that 12 percent of the 35,000 new teachers hired last year had no traditional teaching training.

Further complicating the situation is the fact that researchers expect immigration to increase the population, which will lead to even greater demand for education. For many, JOBDAY is not only an opportunity for professional orientation, but also part of a larger social change towards better education and skilled workers.