Now if there is one thing we in business really need to work on together, it is our social responsibility. At Mourik in Belgium, we have two very special examples. Onbeperkt jobstudent and Rising You both help people with a difficult position on the labor market find good work. Of course we work with them and we are happy to introduce these partners of Mourik to you.

Rising You

Rising You helps refugees towards permanent employment, through a combination of training, mentoring and in many cases: sports. Climbing to be exact. How about that? Benjamin Gérard is one of the founders. "We originated in the world of climbing and caving. And there are many similarities between climbing and industrial work. In terms of safety, for example, and working at height, or descending into a tank. So we started training where that's an advantage, such as painting high-voltage pylons and mounting solar panels. Later, other trades and training were added."

 Training together with companies

"We now have our own training center, a stone's throw from Mourik in Antwerp. We train refugees there for very specific professions. Together with Mourik and other industrial companies, for example, we have training courses for asbestos removal and industrial cleaning. After the training we organize speed dates and then the candidates can start work at one of the companies."

Guidance

"It's not just about the right education. Refugees usually come from a very different culture than ours. So they have to learn all kinds of things: what are the manners like in a Western company? What is expected of me? For example, in some countries it is very rude to show initiative towards someone who is older, while here, foremen interpret initiative as 'seeing work'. We also help them learn the language and with all kinds of things in daily life, such as taxes."

Rising You and Mourik

Mourik already employs two asbestos removers and an industrial cleaner through Rising You. More will hopefully be added. "We are now starting the third round of training. Together with Mourik, we keep developing the training courses, so they keep getting better. 90% of the guys we've trained are working, so it's going very well. But you know how climbers are: we always want higher."

Want to know more? Check out risingyou.be