Comment
So far, the media has had little success in effectively recruiting skilled workers from abroad. In any case, the potential to turn to Germany would make more sense.
That was a year ago. A lot of luggage was left at German airports due to insufficient ground service providers. Labor Minister Hubertus Heil hopes to resolve the issue quickly with experts from Turkey. New four-figure hires should get work visas as soon as possible. If only to fill in the blanks for a limited amount of time.
As a result the whole thing failed. Not a few thousand, but a hundred forces came. FRA simply doesn’t do that. At that time, some people said that the procedures were too complicated and the qualifications of the applicants were too low.
claims and reality
Most importantly, the baggage carousel event clearly demonstrates the gap between aspirations and reality. For years, labor market politicians have touted the urgent need to recruit skilled workers from non-EU countries to fill gaps in the country. Whether IT specialists, craftsmen or caregivers. Labor Secretary Hale traveled the world to attract media attention, praising Ghana or Brazil’s need to attract skilled workers from Germany. EU citizens can work in the country anyway, and millions do.
However, it’s not just the airport experience that is sobering. Despite a decade of intensive activity in the nursing sector for non-EU citizens, only a few thousand people come to Germany. Although Labor Secretary Hale significantly lowered the threshold for trained employees from so-called third countries through the Skilled Migration Act 2020, only 130,000 skilled workers have since entered the country on such visas, according to the Labor Department. It’s also about the pandemic. But the federal government now wants to lower the bar even further because, in their view, there are too few skilled workers.
Only moderate interest in high potentials
There are often many practical reasons for this. Germany has little interest in so-called high potentials, who can earn more in the US or Switzerland while paying less tax. Others wouldn’t put Germany high on their list because of the language complexity. Bureaucratic hurdles are also likely to continue to play a role.
Of course, it would be a good thing if Germany managed to bring more qualified workers to the country to pay taxes and meet the needs of many companies. Germany could perhaps do more to attract these workers.
Boost Germany’s Potential
But the media has focused on the alleged therapeutic effects of skilled worker immigration, ignoring the experience of recent years. Instead, Labor Minister Hale should focus more on Germany’s potential. 2.5 million people are currently unemployed, and nearly 1 million of them have been unemployed for a long time.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, 40% of those able to work from the largest asylum country of origin receive basic security benefits. As a result, many of them can be better integrated into the labor market. Many older workers still struggle to find something new after losing their job. There should be a lot of potential there. Maybe Hubertus Heil should go to Gelsenkirchen, Bremerhaven or Stendal more often than to Ghana or Brazil.
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Reviews always reflect the views of the respective authors, not the editors.