MIC with staff from 45 countries

Egyptian Angie Mikhail has been working at the company for a year Mic (International Customs Management and Trade Compliance) as IT Project Manager. With a bachelor’s degree, several additional qualifications and many years of professional experience, the 32-year-old has had many opportunities to move her career and life center to another country.

Why did she choose Austria? “What I appreciate about Austria is its environment and security. Here I can bike to work and have a lot of opportunities to exercise,” says Inge Mikhail. Many companies, especially in the IT sector, try to recruit highly trained workers from abroad. Finding an employer was not difficult.

Challenging residence and work permits

Challenges lie elsewhere: “Without the company’s support with residence and work permits, it would have been difficult. As a foreigner you face prejudice. I noticed this when I was looking for an apartment.” This is what we hear again and again from new employees, says Margit Klima Bencic, Head of Human Resources at MIC: “We employ about 500 of the best workers from 45 countries. Austria can only meet the need for IT experts through an influx of foreign workers. If we want to be attractive here, the state has to streamline administrative processes, and we as a community have to work on our welcoming culture.

Professional work culture

Manuel Pérez Medina comes from Venezuela. As a Business Analyst, he ensures that the software can be implemented for international clients. “What I appreciate about Austria is the work culture, which is very professional but also leaves room for hobbies,” he says.

As the world’s leading provider of global customs and export control software solutions with a growth rate of about 15 percent per year, Klima-Bencic says finding employees is a challenge. “We strive to be attractive to skilled foreign workers.” This starts with qualifying a broad base of workers. Manuel Pérez Medina also confirms this: “After the application interviews, I had the opportunity to come to Linz and get my first impressions of the city and of course MIC. MIC offers me exactly what I want: stability and the opportunity to develop further.