BGHS.NEWS
Practitioners in Talk #Part 24
:: Non-university careers::
Practitioners in Talk #Part 24
Many ways lead out of the BGHS. But where do postdoctoral paths lead? We talk to historians and sociologists who have taken up their career outside the university. Christian Ulbricht spoke to us about his work as head of the Welcome Center Greifswald.
Abbildung 1: Christian Ulbricht
Christian, you did your PhD at the Faculty of Sociology in 2017, and you are now working as head of the Welcome Center Greifswald. If you remember starting your career: How did you find your way into the job?
Christian Ulbricht: After my PhD, I worked as a postdoc at the university for three more years and, looking back, I have to say: For me, the “Bayreuth Declaration on Fixed-Term Employment Contracts for Academic Staff” was game-changing. The chancellors of Germany’s universities published this declaration in September 2019. I found it insulting that limited qualification phases are an indispensable prerequisite for the universities in order to produce highly qualified people for society, because the chancellors did not meet the concerns of doctoral researchers and post-docs at all. That’s when I decided: Okay, I have to get out of here. Where am I going? I go back home. I worked for democratic development in the region where my parents live. So in September 2020 I started working for a civil society organization that is committed to fighting right-wing extremism and right-wing populism here in Western Pomerania.
How did you come to your current position?
Christian Ulbricht: I applied to a call for applications: for the position of head of the Welcome Center. I have been working in this position since March 2021.
You work for the Welcome Center Greifswald. Where do you work exactly?
Christian Ulbricht: The Welcome Center is part of the “Gemeinnützigen Gesellschaft für Arbeitsförderung, Beschäftigung und Strukturentwicklung“ (ABS). For example, the ABS offers qualification measures for the low-skilled, but also works for qualified and highly qualified employees. The task of the Welcome Center is to provide support in recruiting specialists and highly qualified people. The Welcome Center is financed by the city and district of Greifswald, by business partnerships and by third-party funds, which we also raise for projects.
You are head of the Welcome Center. What are your most important tasks in this job?
Christian Ulbricht: We support companies in attracting specialists and highly qualified people to the Greifswald region: a third of these are people who are returning here; a quarter are international; and a good 40 percent come from other regions of Germany, including large cities such as Hamburg or Berlin. My first task is to do personnel and location marketing in equal measure. I am currently developing a regional branding for the area of Western Pomerania and Pomerania, i.e. for a German-Polish area. For example, I organize a digital job fair together with colleagues from Szczecin. We present the region, and companies present themselves as potential employers. My second task is to lead the team: My colleagues establish contacts with housing associations, embassies and all sorts of social institutions to make it easier for those who arrive to feel at home. My third task is to be responsible for the budget of the Welcome Center.
What tips do you have for colleagues from sociology or history who are interested in a career in the occupational field you are in?
Christian Ulbricht: On the one hand, looking back, I can say: I was able to rely on what I learned when I was doing my PhD when I started my career. On the other hand, I well remember being scared when I was still employed at university: Oh, hopefully I’ll find a job at all. It wasn’t until I realized that I wanted to leave the university that a huge horizon opened up: We have a shortage of skilled workers in many areas – and there are also shortages of highly qualified people. I only realized that when I had finished my university career: that I was wanted outside of the university. And then I wasn’t afraid anymore. I’m getting the message here at the Welcome Center too: companies offer a lot to get good people. Well, Greifswald, for example, currently has an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent. This is the lowest rate since reunification. When I moved away from here to study 17 years ago, the situation on the job market was very different.
Christian, thank you for the conversation!
The interview was conducted by Ulf Ortmann.
You can find the complete interview (in German) here:
Further information on the non-university careers project is available (here). The previous interviews in the series are available(here).