The Federal Employment Agency influences the decision on the employment of foreign specialists
As Deutsche Welle notes, the German economy lacks personnel and cannot do without labor migrants from other countries – both from the EU and beyond. The current bureaucratic hurdles rather hinder their attraction.
In March 2020, a new immigration law will come into force, which should facilitate the employment of foreign specialists. But for it to work optimally in practice, the mechanism still needs to be established. To find solutions, Angela Merkel convened leading politicians, representatives of relevant departments, the economy and trade unions for a special summit on December 16 at the Federal Chancellery.
Who is missing and what about German unemployed
According to the Institute for Employment Research, in the third quarter of 2019 there were 1.36 million vacancies in Germany. It is not possible to fill them with German unemployed registered at the employment agency.
Theoretically, there are 230 unemployed for every 100 job vacancies. But for almost every second unemployed person, only vacancies that do not require vocational training are suitable. In addition, the unemployed person must be willing to move to a region where there is a shortage of personnel in his or her specialty. Not everyone is ready to do this.
One cannot speak of a widespread shortage of personnel – there are problems with finding employees in certain sectors. First of all, there is a shortage of specialists in the MINT field (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and engineering), in the craft sector, construction industry, medicine and care for the sick and elderly, and in the hotel and restaurant business. Programmers, software developers, physiotherapists, plumbers, truck drivers are needed.
The shortage of personnel can be partially covered by taking measures to improve qualifications. For example, retraining a nursing assistant (a profession with no shortage) into a nurse (needed by many clinics). But given the demographics in Germany (aging society, specialists retiring), this will not be enough. Even before the summit on the new immigration law, Angela Merkel emphasized that Germany cannot do without qualified personnel from abroad.
What opportunities do foreigners currently have?
Last year, 60,000 specialists from non-EU countries came to work in Germany. Specialists with higher education find it easier to fill a vacancy on the German labor market – there are no restrictions on professions for them. The main thing is that the university that issued the diploma must be recognized in Germany, the qualification must be confirmed by the relevant German authority, and the Federal Employment Agency must check whether the vacancy can be filled by a specialist from Germany or another EU country.
In the case of particularly sought-after personnel – doctors, engineers, IT specialists or scientists – you can also get a "Blue Card". The annual income must be at least 53,600 euros (gross).
But specialists with vocational training have little chance of finding employment in Germany, although there is also a shortage of personnel in skilled trades. So far, this is only possible if the profession is listed in the so-called positive list (Positivliste), which the Federal Employment Agency compiles every six months.
How the problem of personnel shortage is being solved
With the new law in 2020, employment opportunities will be available to everyone – without restrictions. The priority check by the Federal Employment Agency will no longer be necessary. In addition, not only specialists with higher education but also those with vocational training will be able to come to Germany for six months to look for work.
The Federal Employment Agency is focusing on the targeted recruitment of specialists primarily from Asia and South America. It already has agreements with the Philippines and Mexico to recruit personnel in the medical field. In the craft sector, there are pilot projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Brazil, India, and Vietnam are planned to be included in the list.
The German government's strategy for attracting specialists from abroad involves cooperation only with interested countries that do not have problems with brain drain and have many well-trained specialists.
Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil proposes a different strategy: representatives of the economy should report which specialists and from which countries they would like to attract. He emphasizes the need to get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy, simplify the procedure for recognizing diplomas, and make it possible to submit applications online.
There have already been developments on one of his demands: due to the large influx of applications, some German foreign consulates have expanded their staff to process documents for work visas. Additional employees dealing with visa issues, among other things, are also provided for in the German budget for the next year. In 2021, a separate federal foreign affairs office will even be established, which will also be responsible for visas.