The scenario was completely different in Germany five years ago, as there was hardly any shortage of skilled human resources in different fields of activity. Foreigners flocked to this Western European country to explore employment opportunities. The situation suddenly changed in 2020, when foreigners started leaving Germany. Currently, the economic situation of the country is not so good. Industry has suffered because of the lack of skilled workforce, and the production has decreased. Various studies have been carried out on the labour crisis, and Germany is all set to address this issue. After amending the recruitment process, the Administration of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has started taking initiatives to hire skilled workers from foreign lands.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Labour Minister Wolfgang-Hubertus Heil recently visited Vietnam to encourage the younger generations of the Southeast Asian nation to find jobs in Germany. DW reported in the last week of January 2024 that President Steinmeier received a huge response from the students during his visit to a Vietnamese-German University. Many of them are enthusiastic about working in German corporate houses. The visiting President claimed that a number of young Vietnamese people were learning German!

The German Government introduced new Immigration Laws in the last quarter of 2023, making it easier for foreigners to get German citizenship. The new laws are expected to come into force in two steps in March and June (2024). Experts in global geopolitics are of the opinion that the new Immigration Laws would be able to attract skilled foreign workers. As per new rules, foreigners can apply for a German passport after living there for just five years. Even integration into German society would be possible for foreigners on the basis of their extraordinary merit within three years of arrival in the country.

The German Government has also decided to send different ministers and bureaucrats to Morocco, India, The Philippines and other countries. According to data released by the German Federal Employment Agency, there are more than 1.7 million vacancies in various sectors. A study has revealed that Germany needs about 0.4 million skilled workers every year. During his recent trip to India, Brazil and Kenya, Labour Minister Heil promoted his country as the most suitable employment destination.

Earlier, the German language was preferred as a medium of communication. It prompted many foreigners to leave the country. The German politicians, too, did not want to converse in English. Also, there are other issues, including racism. The German economy is heavily dependent on exports. Many big corporations of the world have their offices in this European country. Berlin has started giving emphasis on English in order to break the language barrier. In spite of these positive developments, there are concerns about racism in Germany. However, Labour Minister Heil told DW that no one had spoken to him directly about this issue.

In Germany, there are many bogus companies that lure foreigners to the country with huge salaries. Berlin has also decided to take necessary actions against these companies. Human trafficking is another major problem, as thousands of Southeast Asian women are trafficked to Germany every year. Due to this, it has been seen that people avoid working in Germany. As Germany wants to attract skilled workers from abroad in an attempt to meet the growing demands of the labour market, the Scholz Administration has started taking drastic measures to reduce unwanted and uncontrolled immigration.

The first and foremost challenge for Germany is geopolitical. Berlin is eager to hire skilled human resources from abroad for various sectors, including healthcare, teaching, construction, agriculture, technology, and the like. Meanwhile, experts have opined that the problem will remain for some time, no matter what measures Germany takes. A section of experts feels that the German Government should adopt a liberal and a strict policy simultaneously in order to resolve the manpower crisis.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das