Status: 03/20/2023 07:57 am
Germany needs skilled workers from abroad, the traffic light is currently working on a law on the immigration of skilled workers. Other countries are further along. Canada for example. Two ministers want to get suggestions there.
His most recent trip took Labor Minister Hubertus Heil to Dahlewitz in Brandenburg, just 25 kilometers from Berlin. There, two weeks ago, he went to see how a turbine manufacturer can recruit skilled workers. The company employs around 2400 people. According to the company, every fifth person has a foreign passport.
Difficult language, cumbersome bureaucracy
The SPD politician summed up his impressions shortly before leaving for Canada in a conversation with the ARD Capital Studio together. People from 50 nations work in Dahlewitz, “and when you talk to them, you know what our strengths are”. It is about Germany being a safe country with a strong economy.
But it is also a country with difficult language and cumbersome bureaucracy. Germany doesn’t have it easy when it comes to recruiting skilled workers. But they are urgently needed in this country. The German Economic Institute recently estimated the gap at around half a million people.
“Learn how they do it”
Hubertus Heil now travels 6,000 kilometers to seek inspiration in Ottawa and Toronto. Canada is a classic immigration country. “And we want to learn how they do it.”
At the end of November, the Federal Cabinet decided at least in principle how Germany intends to do this itself in the future, in a so-called key issues paper. Central topic: attracting more skilled workers from abroad.
One innovation planned by the government is the so-called potential pillar with a point system. So does the example of Canada, which introduced a points system back in 1967, also apply here? No, says Wido Geis-Thöne from the German Economic Institute. Because Canada uses its points system to issue permanent residence permits. Germany’s plans are not that far-reaching.
If you get the necessary number of points, you only get a visa that entitles you to look for a job for one year. “We’re in completely different worlds.”
Union speaks of “missed opportunity”
Stephan Stracke from the CSU is the union’s labor market expert. Above all, he considers the points system to be “a concession to the FDP”, which pushed for such a model. However, a points system that only entitles you to look for a job does not convince Stracke. “It will also have little effect, so it’s more of a missed opportunity.”
Whether in hospitals, in trade or with engineers: there is a shortage of skilled workers everywhere. Minister of Labor Heil therefore does not want one, but many solutions. He wants to provide better training and further education in Germany and wants to attract more women.
At the same time, however, it should be easier for people from non-EU countries, even beyond the planned points system. Anyone who has a German employment contract and can prove a foreign degree and experience can come. The degree no longer has to be recognized in Germany in advance. This is the so-called experience pillar in the future model.
Union for “Federal Agency for Immigration”
CSU politician Stracke considers this to be the real paradigm shift and is therefore skeptical. At the same time, he admits that the previous path is a difficult one. The procedures established during Angela Merkel’s time in government are extremely slow. “We have over 1,000 agencies responsible for this.”
The Union therefore proposes a “Federal Agency for Immigration”. It should bundle and set the pace.
Heil is reluctant when it comes to a new authority, but otherwise signals approval. He also emphasizes: “The most modern immigration law will come to nothing if we don’t finally tear down bureaucratic hurdles.” It’s absurd if you first advertise for good people from abroad who are then put off because others are faster. “Then we lost in the competition.”
Long and non-transparent procedures
From the point of view of Geis-Thöne from the German Economic Institute, there is still a lack of ideas to really become faster. Starting with sometimes waiting for months to even get an appointment at consulates and embassies. Geis-Thöne considers the long and non-transparent procedures to be the central problem. Even the most beautiful access routes are useless. He sees the political will to change, but not enough tangible ideas to actually rebuild the system.
A lot of material for two days in Canada, which will also include Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. In any case, according to CSU politician Stracke, Canada has “a welcoming culture that is very pronounced”. Germany can certainly learn something from that.
After his talks with international experts in Dahlewitz, Brandenburg, Minister Heil put it this way: “They talked better about our country than we sometimes do ourselves.” You have to get used to that in Germany too.
