Germany is looking for thousands of new workers

High - night years are retiring, and due to negative demographic development, the number of new workers is shrinking. More and more companies complain about the lack of qualified workforce. For the German economy, this has become one of the biggest business risks. How serious the situation is, the latest public opinion poll commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation by the Citey Institute shows. Of the 7,500 entrepreneurs surveyed, 66 per cent said they could not find sufficient qualified workers. Last year, 55 percent said that they are counting on problems in completing their jobs.

It gets harder every year

The situation is not the same in all industries, regions, professions and qualifications. If labor - lacking companies ask what exactly they miss, almost every other company lists people with middle-school professional education. Every fourth company lacks educated academic people. In view of the industry, the lack of qualified workforce particularly affects care for the elderly and the powerless and healthcare. Germany is finishing its work”, Detlef Scheele, chairman of the Federal Labour Agency Board of Directors, warned in August. “From care through air maintenance to logistics and university education. There's going to be a lack of a skilled workforce anywhere”. According to him, Germany needs 400,000 immigrants a year to meet the needs of the labour market.

But in practice, so far, immigration of the foreign workforce has played a small role. Only 16 percent of respondents in Bertelsmann's study said they were looking for work abroad. Most of them are trying to attract local employees with especially attractive offers.

Language is the biggest obstacle

Since March 1, 2020, a law has been in force in Germany that should facilitate the arrival of the skilled workforce from countries that are not members of the European Union. Despite that, many entrepreneurs are reluctant to seek workers abroad. The reasons are different. The main reason for companies is the fear of difficulties in communication and the problem of assessing workers' foreign certificate qualifications. The answers are similar to those companies that have already employed foreign workers. This indicates that some fears are not too unjustified, for example, when it comes to communicating with strangers. On the other hand, bureaucratic obstacles in practice are obviously less of a problem than it seems at first sight.

The hurdles are getting smaller.

The Bertelsmann Foundation assumes that political efforts to emigrate qualified workers have yielded fruit. For example, accelerated bureaucratic procedures, incentives to learn German, and a better supply of information on recognition of foreign qualifications. But: “Penges for gaining the qualified foreign workforce still exist, despite significant advances”, warns Mattias Mayer, a migration expert from the Bertelsmann Foundation.67 percent of research participants assume they will have less skilled workforce in the years to come than they need.

The lack of qualified workforce is a growing problem and a solution is not on the horizon. We as a society need sustainable solutions to cope with demographic changes and socio-medical transformation”, Mayer said.

Transnational Partnerships Are Desirable

He stresses that consistent implementation of the Law for Migration of Qualified Labor is crucial. According to Mayer, this includes a simpler procedure for recognition of foreign certificates and diplomas. He believes that partnerships in education between Germany and other countries can be beneficial, which can contribute to a better bilateral consensus between entrepreneurs and potential foreign workers. About 57 percent of the surveyed companies estimate that it would be beneficial to link more conventional agreements on employment mediation or training of the qualified workforce. /dw