Based in the small town of Hessisch Lichtenau, Your Mellon offers professional Greek drivers the opportunity to find work in German public transport companies. At its event in Thessaloniki, a number of drivers sought a new job perspective.

For a better future

“We are the Tinder of work. The prospective employee submits his CV for free on our platform and we search for a possible job for him. We offer, in collaboration with our client employers, a package: free accommodation for three to six months, German courses up to a satisfactory level for up to one year, health insurance”, says Dimitris Kalaitzidis, director of Your Mellon.

The costs are paid by the employers and the employee bears nothing. “Demographic developments in Germany, but also generation Z’s work choices, are causing a great shortage in the field of drivers. This will continue,” he points out. Increasing hourly wages for bus drivers will attract more applicants. “Many families came and 90% have stayed. I met many people in despair and I am very happy that we gave them a new path in their lives”, says Kalaitzidis.

Large turnout of interested parties at the Thessaloniki event – Image: Diogenis Dimitrakopoulos/DW

The demand for drivers will be maintained

But why is there such a high demand for drivers in Germany? “The baby boomer generation is retiring and the professional profile of the driver does not have as much social recognition in Germany. Also, earnings have declined over the past twenty years. Lately there has been a wage increase, which makes the profession of driver more attractive,” says Thomas Dottmann, managing director of Rhein-Bus Verkehrsbetrieb GmbH Düsseldorf, part of the Transdev group.

According to him, an average bus driver’s salary amounts to 3500 euros gross, depending on the working hours, and is expected to increase. The diploma can be obtained in 4-6 weeks. “So, without a high qualification, you can get a decent income quickly. With a bus driver’s license you will hardly be unemployed in Germany,” he says.

Greek interest is high and many are ready to leave their homeland for some time, from young people who are single at the age of 20, to family heads with children, at the age of 50. “Each worker is important and is not yet a number. Most adapt easily because they are self-aware and find the work routine they are looking for. As for the demand for drivers, in the next 10-20 years it will continue, because of the needs in Germany”, emphasizes Mr. Dotman.

The driver Ioannis Angelakis
At 34, Ioannis Angelakis came to Germany, from Serres – Image: Diogenis Dimitrakopoulos/DW

A new beginning as drivers in Germany

“I arrived amen in Greece and working as a driver in Germany was a great opportunity for me,” says Christos Papageorgiou, a city bus driver in Düsseldorf, in the Rhein-Bus company of the Transdev group, speaking to Deutsche Welle. The same decision was made by his wife, who had nothing to do with the profession. He obtained a bus driver’s license and works for the same company as a driver. “I was looking for job security. My contract in urban transport in Komotini was renewed every three months. In Germany after one year of work, I have an open-ended contract. We built a house from scratch, I started saving and I have the comfort to educate my children”, he says characteristically.

As for everyday life on the streets in relation to Greece? “It’s night and day on the road, due to driver education and behavior towards buses. There is respect, respect for bus lanes and ways to facilitate the driver”, emphasizes the Greek driver who shared his experience at the Your Mellon event with prospective drivers.

“I left in order to maintain my standard of living. I ran a mini market in Serres, which was doing well, but the profitability was decreasing due to high taxation. The daily stress was great, but I was also bothered socially by the growing indifference of people,” emphasizes Ioannis Angelakis, a bus driver in the urban transport of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. She immigrated at 34 with two children and started a new life, with no previous connection to the profession. “It helped that you didn’t have to know German and that there was a lot of demand for bus drivers. Also, Germans do not choose to practice this profession and issuing a driver’s license in Greece is much cheaper than in Germany,” he points out.

He identifies the difference in the movements between Greece and Germany in the bus fleet, but also in the fact that the private sector undertakes part of the movements alongside the public sector, mainly on regional routes. “It’s not heaven. You have to be very careful of elderly drivers and the large number of cyclists and have a lot of patience. And you definitely don’t use the horn with the same frequency as in Greece,” he says characteristically.

Ifigenia Hasoglani, with little experience as a bus driver in a municipality of Thessaloniki, also sought the path to job stability and recognition in the professional field at the Your Mellon event. “The help in finding accommodation, but also the attention to the individual needs of the employee impressed me. I have the job offer. It is now up to me to make the final decision to leave Greece, to find a stable ground to build my life as a bus driver in Germany,” he says.