Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

IMMIGRATION

Job centre: Germany needs two million skilled immigrants

Frank-Jürgen Weise, head of the Federal Labour Agency (BA), said in an interview published Saturday that Germany needs two million qualified foreigners over the next few years to avoid a labour shortage.

Published: 14 May 2011 16:04 CEST

Job centre: Germany needs two million skilled immigrants

Photo: DPA

“It won’t work out without targeted immigration,” Weise told Die Welt newspaper, adding that some industries and regions were already suffering from a shortage of workers.

Weise said that current prognoses suggested that by 2025, Germany will be lacking between six and seven million skilled workers. “We might be able to fill half of this gap by mobilizing the domestic workforce,” he said.

He also warned, “The worst case scenario is that companies start re-locating to where the workforce is, or restructuring so that they don’t need so many skilled workers.”

In March, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government approved legislation to recognize foreign qualifications, making it easier for non-EU people to find work in Germany.

Unemployment is currently dipping to an historical low, and is expected to go below three million people this month.

But the ranks of Germany’s employed include a rising number carrying out so-called “mini-jobs”, whose salary must be less than €400 per month.

There were nearly five million people in this position in April, a rise of 0.6 percent on the year, according to the BA. A further 2.4 million were doing a “mini-job” on top of another job.

DPA/The Local/bk

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

Url copied to clipboard!