Kenya and Germany have been working on a migration agreement to provide job opportunities to Kenyans while curbing skilled-labor shortages in Germany. DW's Felix Maringa met two Kenyans as they prepare to start driving buses in northern Germany.
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00:00 (crowd cheering)
00:02 - Ready to hit the road.
00:04 Millicent Atieno is training to be a bus driver.
00:07 She's one of a handful of Kenyans
00:09 taking part in a pilot project,
00:11 hoping to get a job in Germany.
00:13 In about eight weeks, she expects to be licensed
00:16 and work in Flensburg in the north of the country.
00:19 - I'll be very happy that I'm going to drive
00:21 in an expensive road in Germany,
00:24 whereby there's no portals.
00:27 There's no, in Kenya like here, there's border borders.
00:31 So I won't be like so much stress,
00:35 worrying that there's a border border crashing to my side.
00:40 - Stephen Sande has been driving buses
00:43 for a local school for the last 14 years,
00:46 but he has to retrain as his driving license
00:49 is not recognized in Germany.
00:51 That's in addition to the usual bureaucratic hurdles
00:54 faced by people coming to Europe.
00:56 He says he's been dreaming of working in Germany
00:58 for the past 10 years,
00:59 and he's well aware that there will be other challenges.
01:02 - I've heard about racism in Germany.
01:05 I think there are a lot of blacks in Germany,
01:10 and being there, it won't affect me so much
01:13 because I have to adapt to that situation here,
01:17 and I'm ready for that.
01:18 - Germany's incoming bus drivers
01:20 have also been picking up some vital skills.
01:24 - (speaking in foreign language)
01:28 - Their teacher says there's more to it than just language.
01:32 - Part of the things we've taught them
01:34 are now the discipline, mannerisms,
01:37 like a driver, how you are supposed to be very careful.
01:39 So I have confidence, not in their German language alone,
01:44 but also in how to carry themselves while they're,
01:48 even the cultures of the Germans, the foodstuffs,
01:52 the clothing, like we expect a lot of winter there.
01:56 - Germany needs skilled workers,
01:58 and it's turning to countries like Kenya to help.
02:01 Agencies like Skilution, who are running this project,
02:04 try and set the stage for a seamless transition
02:06 into German society.
02:08 - We do the visa appointments
02:11 at the German embassy in Nairobi.
02:13 We do from the German side,
02:15 German governmental side, the preparations,
02:18 so they get quick their visa,
02:22 and the company in Germany, the bus company,
02:24 is taking care of the accommodation in Germany
02:27 for the first year.
02:28 So they come to Germany, they have a house
02:31 where they can move in, they can be there,
02:33 and they can take their living at least for a year.
02:36 - Stephen Thandi is optimistic about what's ahead.
02:41 - My hope is that I get a good working environment,
02:46 I get good colleagues that I can work with, yes,
02:50 and also to get something to help me help
02:53 the people who are in need.
02:54 - Sande and Millicent have now signed their contracts
02:58 and are looking forward to the new opportunity
03:00 for them and their families.
03:02 (applause)