During the year, Odessa companies were assisted by "senior experts" from the German Service of Senior Experts to develop 15 projects. They are qualified specialists of retirement age, who help small and medium-sized businesses, government agencies, social and educational institutions outside Germany. The programme is free of charge.
The Service of Senior Experts (SES) appeared in Germany in 1983. and the reason for its foundation was a social crisis. The fact is that it was during that period that the number of suicides among pensioners was rapidly growing in the country and a wave of mass rallies swept across Germany. To give elderly Germans a useful role for the society, the government decided to create such an association. Over the years of its existence, SES has implemented more than 50 thousand projects.
An application for expert assistance can be submitted by an enterprise of any form of ownership. The only requirement is that at least a year must pass from the date of its registration. Also, we do not work with enterprises of the defense industry and high-tech. Hospitals order surgeons, oncologists, university professors, adjust curricula, enterprises order managers, logisticians, technologists, salesmen.
Aleksey Nazarenko, SES project coordinator in Ukraine
Today, the service employs 12.5 thousand specialists in various fields. The experts are high-class specialists and top managers with at least 30 years of experience in a particular field. Usually, these are people 70-80 years old.
The organisation is focused on providing services to countries with economies in transition. For example, last year in Ukraine, 164 projects were implemented together with the service of senior experts.
Germany has a good health care system and they are all healthy and sane. Recently, for example, an expert born in 1933 came to visit us. He is a very good architect and landscape designer who has offices in Germany and London. So, he is more alive than all living things! The expert gave consultations to our specialists from the New-Vasyuki ethnopark.
Aleksey Nazarenko, SES project coordinator in Ukraine
SES's Odessa clients include the New-Vasyuki ethno-park, Odessa State Agrarian University, Odessa State University of Internal Affairs, Odessa National Academy of Food Technologies, etc.
Importantly, all experts provide advice and assistance to enterprises exclusively on a volunteer basis. The receiving party pays only for travel, accommodation and meals for the specialist. It also provides for the allocation of pocket money (about 5 euros per day).
Communication takes place most often in English or Russian. However, experts often speak several other languages. If no one at the company speaks English, then the service involves translators.
As a result of the work, quality monitoring is carried out. And as a rule, 99.8% of customers consider the project to be successful.
In the near future, says Nazarenko, they plan to invite German experts to Odessa to develop the city's social infrastructure.
The plans include the construction of several social facilities in Odessa and the city authorities want to attract our specialists to build in accordance with modern trends. We are ready to provide support.
