Mason Jones (Reporter)
BMW is hiring young unemployed Spaniards to ‘give something back’ to its customer countries.
A group of 25 workers aged 18 to 25 will be trained for a year at the car firm’s headquarters in Munich, Germany.
“They should be immersed in German culture, possibly live with a BMW host family and work in development, sales, marketing or another area. After that, these young people can go back home or stay here,” said BMW personnel chief, Milagros Caina-Andree.
“We want to give something back to these countries, in which we sell our cars, after all,” she added.
Caina-Andree, who joined BMW’s management board last year, said the programme may be expanded to other countries such as Italy or Greece in the future.
Oh dear,
that’s going to be hard for them – they will be expected to turn up before their start time so that they actually start work at that time. No 45 minute coffee breaks, very few religious holidays and they will have to learn to speak German. But hardest of all will be working to exact standards, near enough might be OK in Spain and the UK but not in Germany.
The Spanish have no interest in the countryside which is a shame as southern Germany has some of the best walking/climbing and cycling in Europe.
You wonder why international companies like Ford, Volkswagen, Nissan and Renault are all expanding production in Spain, if the Spanish worker was really 10% as bad as Stuart smears. Why come out with this rascist rubbish Stuart? Life in France not so good? Or cheesed off with watching the French tennis final today – oh dear, the two finalists are Spanish! Lol.
Thank you English Dragon.
I come on here quiet a bit to read comments. Stuart you don’t live in FRANCE do you? That would be funny if it’s true.
I think the 75% of people in Spain who are lucky enough to have a job have got it right. They start early. Have a long sociable morning break. Then a longer 3 hour civilised sociable break, to take time eating/drinking/talking, every afternoon 2-5pm (they’d all be drunk in uk if this happened by the way), and then work 5-8pm.
A lot of people in uk work all week with no breaks hardly (you might stuff down a quick sandwich then return to work with indigestion, or have to eat at your workplace), then binge drink Friday and Saturday.
People live about 2 years longer in Spain than uk.
Interesting why the OP changed the image of the article. Originally it was a Chinese man (according to Google cache.)
Nothing racist in the above post. Strange why some people just still cannot understand what the word means. I find that people often use this term when they have no concrete argument themselves, and wish to tar the other person with a phrase that attempts to ostracise them. A total fail in this case.
645 euros a month minimum wage? No wonder car companies are expanding in Spain. They will soon be in competition with China at this rate. All they have to do now, is persuade them to give up the sacred siesta.
Many people from Andalucía went to work in Germany in the 1960s. There was so little so little work at home that they were effectively economic migrants. Much the same as today, in fact.
Guess what. Many of them enjoyed life so much over there that they never returned to Spain. Some returned at the end of their working lives; some “returned” because they still had family ties here in Spain even though they had been born in Germany.
I know some of them because they live here in the village where we live. Many are completely fluent in German. None of them would hear a single bad word said about Germany or the Germans.
There is now a formal town-twinning arrangement with the German town where many of them ended up. We all look forward to their bi-annual visits.
No mention of siestas; none of working practices either. All were accepted as guests by local families. So much for petty prejudices.
For financial stability, as a qualified youth in Spain, I’d do the same Tony.
Yes, it’s a good idea not to go to a colder country and have siestas. You won’t last very long.
I am surprised at the comment that the Spanish have no interest in the countryside. I dont know what the situation is in Germany but I have see multiple web sites (both private and state sun)that provide information in Spanish on hill walking and other outdoor pursuits. Somebody in Spain must be using them.
“I am surprised at the comment that the Spanish have no interest in the countryside.”
Dave, that´s exactly what happens when people generalize. There are as many “Spanish” as any other nationality.
In other words, there are no “Spanish”.
Racist is possibly the wrong word. GENERALLY race is used to distinguish between negroid, Caucasian, mongoloid etc. however there is a school of thought that suggests its equally appropriate to distinguish lineage so perhaps anti-Spanish views might fit.
I don’t think it does though really.
Bigot would be a better word for the views oft spouted.
Richard, you are right. “Bigot” is a much better word to describe the frequent contributors to the OP. “Selectively blind” is also an expression I would use, but “bigot” is far more apt.
“Racism”is a controversial word to use in any situation since there is no such thing as “race”, at least not among thinking people.