A town wants to grow
You advertise with the slogan "Wer kommt, bleibt“(come and visit us, you'll never want to leave) for your town. Does everyone stay?
Job: Haldensleben has a history of more than 1000 years. The town is green and holds a successful mixture of hard and soft site factors – meaning it's a great place to both work and play. We are working to ensure that this continues to get around customers. This is why we are attend fairs for example. In order to optimise our marketing strategy, we announced a scholarship for the first time in 2011. All of this serves to retain inhabitants and to attract new ones. Because just like other communes, Haldensleben has lost inhabitants. Particularly young people move away. This is a shame because they are our specialist staff of the future.
How is the lack of specialist staff noticeable?
Job: From a purely mathematical perspective, the situation is as follows: the town has just under 19,000 inhabitants. Many of these, notably children and OAPs, are not of working age. In comparison, there are around 12,500 jobs for insurable employment which are created by around 1,400 employees. On the basis of these facts, the local companies can no longer fill all of their positions. The company Hermes, for example, one of the largest employers in the region is also desperately looking for specialist staff just like the automobile subcontractor IFA-Rotorion. We therefore need to do something.
What does the growth pact entail exactly?
Job: The aim is to reduce migration away from the town by 20% by 2020 and to increase the number of incoming people by 20%. These are ambitious aims. But we don't just want to create flying sparks, we want to spread a fire. To achieve this, local companies and the town have joined forces. In the end, we have the same interest: the people who are the town's residents are also specialist staff for companies.
How does it work?
Job: Once a quarter, stakeholders discuss imminent problems. One example: if specialist staff from local companies are commuters, there is always the risk that they will take off again at some point and return to their old home town. We want to respond to this. Our advantage: we are flexible and are not afraid to take alternative paths. Furthermore, we are not only a town of short distances but also the same administration. This means that we can also offer individual help or draw attention to promotional instruments. This makes the decision to move easier for many.
What is concrete help of this kind like?
Job: Society believes that only metropolises are places with a higher standard of living. The specific advantages of small towns such as Haldensleben are often not highlighted. This is where we come in. We have a lot to offer especially for families. Particularly things that are certainly not taken for granted in large cities. If we are unable to offer something, we give the next nearest town which we see as an addition. Thanks to this, a trip to the zoo from Haldensleben is no problem. It is also a short drive from Magdeburg and Braunschweig is also not that far away.
What advantages can you offer for families?
Job: Parents can count on their child being cared for in one of our town nurseries. The facilities are in top condition, just like our schools. As a family friendly commune, we also offer special conditions for everyone who wants to take up residence here. There are plots for a symbolic price of €1 or leaseholds which are particularly interesting for families with several children. This has meant that we have been able to attract a four member family from Munich, where one of the parents had already worked here.
Is there any feedback about how the new residents of Haldensleben are faring and have any initial conclusions been reached as to whether the growth pact is effective?
Job: They feel at home. We take measures to ensure that this stays this way. At the moment, for example, new, high quality residential areas are being developed. Furthermore, we also want to keep up our cultural programme. Our success is proven by a positive trend of numbers. Haldensleben has been able to welcome 862 new residents over the past year. Overall, 53 more people arrived than departed. As a result, the demand for property has also increased. This is a pleasing development.
Contact:
Town of Haldensleben
Economic development, tourism and communication
Head of department: Lutz Zimmermann
Economic development: Nicole Job
Markt 22
39340 Haldensleben
Tel: 03904-479 188
E-mail: Lutz.Zimmermann.ignore@haldensleben.de
Web: www.haldensleben.de
http://www.haldensleben.de