spanish specialists
Spanish Specialists
Vocabulary
| graduate (2) | experience | out of work |
| currently | employee | unemployement |
| employer | rate | staggering |
| high | low | education |
| educated | find/found | poor/poorly |
| pay/paid | face (2) | prospect |
| wage | opportunity | advancement |
| decide | try | luck |
| weather | whether | try their luck |
| important | the most | career |
| future | hire | software |
| consult | firm | head |
| hunt | headhunt (2) | at the moment |
| qualified | quality | quantity |
| just | want | stay |
| flight | connection | flight connection |
| between | convenient | at any rate |
| hard (2) | while | work hard |
| colleague | struggle | has a way to go |
| still | coworker | personnelle |
| wait | knock | opportunity |
| welcome | foreign | definitely |
| look | of interest | look for |
| prevail | outside | inside |
| architect | engineer | international |
| explain | debt | crisis |
| benefit | country (2) | firm (2) |
| want | soccer | tournament |
| goal | keeper | combat |
| long | comfortable | homesickness |
| pick (3) | long time | pick up (2) |
| consider | give | for good |
Video
Transcript
These three young Spaniards now live in Bremen. They are all university graduates with job experience who have come to Germany to work.
Over 20% of working age Spaniards are currently out of work. For young people the unemployment rate is a staggering 46%.
“Highly educated people can’t find good jobs. Or they can find work that’s poorly paid,” says Jose Francisco Sanchez Sanchez, a physicist.
Faced with the prospectly of low wages or few opporutunities for advancement at home, the three friends decided to try their luck in Germany.
“Maybe the weather isn’t as good, but it’s a new experience,”
“The most important thing isn’t the weather, it’s my career, my future. And that’s here in Germany.”
Two of the three have been hired by the software consulting firm, Abat. They were headhunted in Madrid. Their new employer knew that in Spain at the moment, there are many highly qualified graduates looking for work.
“We’re not just here for a year or two; we want to stay. There are many good flight connections between Germany and Spain,” says Nicolas Giminez Stamminer, an economist major. “I come from Alicante. There’s a direct fllight from Bremen, so that’s really convenient.”
“Not for me, I’m from Madrid.”
Okay maybe it’s not so easy for him. But at any rate we can be there in two or three hours. I can visit my family and work here.
The three have been working hard to learn German, while their colleauges struggle with Spanish.
This coworker has been studying Spanish for three years, but still has some way to go.
At Abat, they’re looking for more personnelle like the new colleagues from Spain.
Board member Ronald Wermann knows there are lots of qualified software developers in southern Europe, just waiting for opportunity to come knocking.
“Anyone who speaks German and English is welcome here: to serve our clients, they have to speak those two languages. But when people come from other European countries, and can speak other foreign languages, that’s helpful too. We have projects in Germany, in Hungary, in Spain and in France so that’s definitely of interest.”
Rodgrio Gomez is the only one of the three friends still looking for a job. He’s taking German lessons…but outside the language school, Spanish prevails.
“He’s also from Spain. He’s an architect. Architects, engineer. And he’s also an engineer.”
Gomez has worked for an international consulting firm. He explains how Germany companies can actually benefit from Europe’s debt crisis.
“The economy isn’t doing well in other southern European countries. So German firms can come to these countries, find good people and bring them here. And people want to come here.”
This language school has also seen an increase in the number of students from southern Europe taking German classes.
The three friends from Spain meet up again at a company soccer tournament. The Spanish goal keeper says that playing this beautiful game helps combat homesickness.
“We’re the Abat Company — all of these people. It’s not just Spaniards: there are also Germans and Turks. I feel very comfortable in this firm. So I can say, I could stay a long time.
Maybe in a few years, the Spanish economy will pick up again. Only then would he consider giving up his post and returning home for good.
Questions
1. Describe the three friends who live in Bremen.
2. Why did they come to Germany? Describe the economic situation in Spain.
3. They don’t like the weather in Germany. True or false?
4. Did two of the friends apply directly to the Abat company?
5. Is homesickness a big problem for them?
6. Describe the language issue for German companies and foreigners.
7. What kind of Spaniards come to Germany?
8. Football is important. Yes or no? Why or why not?
A. Are you working in another country?
B. Do you have friends or family members who live and work abroad?
C. Are there foreign employees or business people in your company?
D. Is there a skills shortage in your city or country? Or is there a glut?
E. Would you like to live and work abroad?
