In many countries unemployed youth queuing up in front of labour offices is a common sight. Not so in Germany. The country increasingly faces the opposite problem - a shortage of qualified young people willing to take up the occupational challenge in one of the world`s most advanced economies.
According to a recent report in Germany's most popular news magazine "Der Spiegel", experts are warning that the shortage of skilled labour could become an increasingly serious threat to Germany's economy in years to come. Companies in certain industrial sectors are already struggling to fill vacant positions. Demographic developments will only make that worse, as the German population ages and the labor force shrinks.
The government is now debating to ease immigration regulations for highly qualified professionals from non-EU countries even further in order to allow German companies to employ foreign specialists. Earlier this year, a consortium of German foundations and charities set up a cross-party commission to look at the problem. The commission is headed by Armin Laschet, former state integration minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, and former German Defense Minister Peter Struck. Laschet told "Der Spiegel" that "we need to campaign around the world to attract the best minds. That effort already begins, incidentally, with our embassies, consulates and chambers of commerce located abroad."
The commission wants the government to lower bureaucratic hurdles so that companies can hire skilled workers from abroad more easily. In addition, it asks for measures that will make it more straightforward for foreign students to work in Germany and stay in the country after graduation. As of now, non-EU graduates of German university are granted one extra year to find a suitable job in order to obtain a five-year work and residence permit.
Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com
According to a recent report in Germany's most popular news magazine "Der Spiegel", experts are warning that the shortage of skilled labour could become an increasingly serious threat to Germany's economy in years to come. Companies in certain industrial sectors are already struggling to fill vacant positions. Demographic developments will only make that worse, as the German population ages and the labor force shrinks.
The government is now debating to ease immigration regulations for highly qualified professionals from non-EU countries even further in order to allow German companies to employ foreign specialists. Earlier this year, a consortium of German foundations and charities set up a cross-party commission to look at the problem. The commission is headed by Armin Laschet, former state integration minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, and former German Defense Minister Peter Struck. Laschet told "Der Spiegel" that "we need to campaign around the world to attract the best minds. That effort already begins, incidentally, with our embassies, consulates and chambers of commerce located abroad."
The commission wants the government to lower bureaucratic hurdles so that companies can hire skilled workers from abroad more easily. In addition, it asks for measures that will make it more straightforward for foreign students to work in Germany and stay in the country after graduation. As of now, non-EU graduates of German university are granted one extra year to find a suitable job in order to obtain a five-year work and residence permit.
Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com
