Spousecare Connect Newsletter Summer 2012

Welcome to the first edition of Spousecare Connect!

We are delighted to be sending you the first edition of our new newsletter SPOUSECARE CONNECT, especially for our network and clients who employ international talent. With this quarterly newsletter we will keep you posted about our work, industry news and other useful information.

December this year marks Spousecare's 5 year anniversary and what an amazing journey it's been so far! Not only have we had the privilege of meeting so many extraordinary people from all over the world, we are also particularly pleased to see that the needs and prospects of accompanying spouses and partners are taking greater priority.

By now, it should be no secret that a key factor for success in retaining international talent in Denmark is that the accompanying spouse is also prospering in their new home. This is the most important work we do at Spousecare and we are doing our utmost to maintain our success.

In this issue we would like to introduce you to the Spousecare team, and we are also exceptionally proud to present our new Spouse Board!

Anette

Wishing you all a great summer!

Anette Pilmark

Founder & Director of Spousecare

What's New

Spousecare featured in Danske Kommuner Magazine

In 2011 Spousecare was part of a project with Rudersdal, Frederiksberg and Lyngby-Taarbæk municipality. The aim was to give foreign citizens a better welcome when arriving in Denmark. Click here to read the article.

Changes to Child Benefit Allowance
Many families who have arrived in Denmark in 2012 are unaware of the changes to the rules concerning child benefit, and are still expecting to receive the full amount. Please be aware of the new rules implemented on 1 January 2012. You can read more about these rules here.

Copenhagen Expat Fair - 27 August 2012
Spousecare is delighted to announce our involvement with the Copenhagen Expat Fair at Copenhagen City Hall, for the third year running. Danske Bank is this year's main Sponsor.

"By sponsoring the Copenhagen Expat Fair we get the opportunity to help the many expat families in Denmark build a social network through common interests and social clubs. Therefore we are happy to sponsor this event."

Henrik Skov, Head of International Private Clients at Danske Bank

For more details of the Copenhagen Expat Fair click here.

Survey results

All Spousecare programmes are completed with a survey and sent to our clients with our bi-annual status report. However, we thought you would also be interested to see our latest results for spouses who have completed a 6 month programme.

94% of spouses are highly satisfied with our services
87% of spouses have requested career counselling support
65% of foreign job seeking spouses have found employment
100% of Danish homecoming spouses seeking work have found employment
92% of spouses have rated our service as well above average

Speakers Corner

Maybe Danes aren't so weird after all?
'How to retain skilled foreign workers' is a topic of constant discussion in Denmark, which has led to Danes asking themselves some major questions about how they are viewed by newcomers. Many seminars propagate the view that Danes are seen as cold or even weird. In this edition of Speakers Corner, Spousecare founder Anette Pilmark debates the accuracy of this perception. Click here to read the full article.

Spousecare Spouse Board

Since Spousecare was founded in 2007 we have made it a fundamental priority to ensure our service is relevant and effective for our clients. When developing any new initiatives we listen to the feedback from our target audience, as well as consulting focus groups. That's why this Spring we established our own permanent Spousecare Spouse Board. This is comprised of 6 members who come from all over the world. Who better to advise us!

If you are compiling research and would like some help, or are just in need of a sounding board please feel free to contact us.

T : +45 22 90 76 82
E : info@spousecare.dk
W : www.spousecare.dk

Coming soon!

Talent pool is a new initiative by Spousecare to showcase on our website some of our spouses who are currently seeking employment. Look out for more details in our autumn newsletter.

Meet our Team

Bodil Haumann
Spouse Consultant
Bodil has worked with Spousecare for almost 3 years and has assisted many of our spouses in pursuing a new career, as well as settling in to their new everyday life in Denmark. Bodil is a certified International Coach and has been working within recruitment for more than 12 years.

Sys Vecht
Spouse Consultant
Sys has been a member of our team for 2 years. Like Bodil she has ensured that many of our spouses have been able to continue their career, as well at settling and thriving in their new everyday life. Sys has a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (HD) - Organisation and Management, and has been working within HR and recruitment for more than 20 years.

Julie Rønne
Language Consultant
Julie is a language expert assisting our non-English speaking spouses in languages such as Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. She also speaks German and English, and has an in-depth knowledge of Indian culture. Finally, Julie also organises special events and tours.

Sarah Andersen
Design Consultant
Sarah is a digital project manager and is helping us develop our newsletters and other digital offerings. She has worked with clients such as Panasonic and Disney, and is available for freelance work. She is also seeking a permanent position. You can view her personal portfolio at sarahandersen.net. Sarah is also the creator of newcitymums.com a blog and network of 400 international parents living in Copenhagen.

Isabelle Valentine

France/Canada
Isabelle is a true entrepreneur and in August 2011 started the International Montessori Pre-school, which is located in Valby.

Yingchen Shi

China

Yingchen has 20 years professional experience in China, Germany, the UK and Denmark. She is experienced in both Marketing and Business Development, including Industry Analysis, Business/Strategy Development and in Insurance industries (Risk Management). Yingchen currently works for Danica Pension as International Chief Consultant.

Marie Claire Dejean-Pannier

France
Marie-Claire has been in Denmark for 6 years, and works for the French Embassy.

Karen Holmen Stenkilde

Denmark

In the Spouse Board Karen represents the Danish homecoming spouses whom we also support. She has spent 3 years living in Brazil and China, due to her husband’s work for Novo Nordisk. Karen speaks English, Portuguese and Chinese and is now looking for options to use her knowledge and experience from China.

Sateja Bhalekar

India

Sateja is a lawyer, educated in Mumbai, India, and now works for A. P. Moller- Maersk handling Global IT contracts.

Silvio Ruggieri

England
Silvio completed an Msc in Organisational Psychology whilst living in China for 3 years. On his return to Denmark he established Iddev and is currently working at Welltec as a training and development consultant.