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IMMIGRATION

Will immigration reform be enough to combat Germany’s worker shortage?

Despite record levels of immigration, Germany still faces a huge worker shortage. Federal Labour Minister Hubertus Heil has put forward plans to reform immigration law and, the government has approved a new Skilled Worker Strategy.

An employee of an electric motor and fan manufacturer, works on a fan in production.
An employee of an electric motor and fan manufacturer, works on a fan in production. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Schmidt

picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Kirsten Neumann

Germany is currently facing a significant worker shortage and, in the last quarter alone, there were nearly 2 million vacant positions on the country’s job market. 

The German government currently expects that, by 2026, there will be 240,000 jobs in Germany for which there will be no qualified candidates.

One of the ways in which Germany intends to tackle this impending labour force crisis is by replacing the current immigration system similar to the points-based model used in Canada. But this is not the only way.

Last week, Germany’s Federal Cabinet approved a new Skilled Labour Strategy which lays out various ways in which Germany will try to plug the worker shortage.

PODCAST: Germany’s plans to modernise citizenship and immigration laws, and is cash still king?

Which immigration reforms are currently on the table?

In September, Federal Labour Minister Hubertus Heil presented his initial plans for a new Chancenkarte – a so-called “opportunity card” which will offer foreign nationals the chance to come to Germany to look for work even without a job offer. 

Under the plans, internationals will be able to come to live in Germany as long as they fulfil at least three of the criteria of having a university degree or professional qualification, professional experience of at least three years, a language skill or previous residence in Germany and are under 35.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Germany’s points-based immigration plans

This means that, unlike at the moment, proof of qualification and work experience abroad will suffice for entry into Germany.

This would open up the labour market to foreign specialists who don’t yet have a qualification recognised in Germany, as they would be able to obtain these qualifications with the help of a German employer, who would sign a contract with them and also pay for some of their language courses.

It is still not clear, however, when the new points-based immigration system will come into effect.

According to the Skilled Worker Strategy paper, other important goals are to enable immigrants to make greater use of the employment and training opportunities in Germany and for the recognition procedures for foreign educational and professional qualifications to be simplified. 

READ ALSO: ‘More jobs in English’: How Germany could attract international workers

The Strategy Paper also talks about “a goal-oriented pre-integration policy” which would include providing information and advice on immigration procedures, language courses, and orientation services in the country of origin for the potential skilled workers themselves as well as for their family members.

What else is Germany doing to deal with skilled worker shortage?

Along with simplifying immigration procedures, the German government also wants to combat the shortage of skilled workers with measures to stimulate workforce participation by those already living in Germany.

A metal worker works with a vice in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Kirsten Neumann

Due to the high part-time employment rate, the average annual volume of paid work done by women in Germany is about 30 percent below that of men. Therefore, the aim, according to the Strategy Paper, is to encourage more women to work full-time with measures such as expanding childcare and reducing financial disincentives – such as Ehegattensplitting (“marital splitting”).

READ ALSO: Ehegattensplitting: How did Germany’s marriage tax law become so controversial?

The government also wants to do more to promote training and study courses in sectors and occupations most affected by the skilled worker shortage. This applies, for example, to the skilled trades – such as plumbers, electricians and carpenters – where a high proportion of employees are approaching retirement age.

The government also wants to open up continuing education programs and to provide incentives to encourage low-skilled, unemployed and benefits recipients to catch up on their vocational qualifications.

Another crucial issue to be addressed is the training of migrants who have been living in Germany for some time. From January 1st, 2022 those who have been living in Germany for at least five years are allowed to stay and work. 

According to the Strategy Paper, the federal government is also offering support and further vocational training for immigrants who still need qualifications to gain a foothold in the German labour market.

READ ALSO: German cities warn of growing refugee crisis

Speaking to the Labour Minister on a visit to Berlin last week, Klaus-Dieter Müller, managing director of a construction company with around 170 employees, criticised what he sees as a shortage of young talent. Many of the worker shortage issues, he said, could best be solved by better training for migrants.

Builders work on a building site in Baden-Württemberg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd Weißbrod

According to Müller, a lack of technical language classes for migrants is a key reason “why motivated and talented people fail their craft training”. Just recently, he said, his company lost two apprentices because they failed to get their vocational degrees due to language difficulties. 

“These are enormous losses in our industry, demographic change is having an extreme impact on us, we need people with a migration history, I don’t know anyone who says otherwise,” he said. 

Klaus-Dieter Müller also said that bureaucratic hurdles also have a paralysing effect on his industry. In the case of his trainees from Syria and Lebanon, it took almost two years for the authorities to recognise their school certificates, he said.

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GERMAN CITIZENSHIP

German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

Foreigners in Germany are waiting on tenterhooks for the introduction of the new dual nationality law on Thursday - but the centre-right CDU and CSU say they would overturn the reform if re-elected next year.

German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

“The CDU and CSU will reverse this unsuccessful reform,” Alexander Throm (CDU), spokesperson on domestic policy for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, told DPA on Tuesday.

“Dual citizenship must remain the exception and be limited to countries that share our values.”

Throm also criticised the new citizenship law for reducing the amount of time foreigners need to live in the country before naturalising as Germans, describing the new residence requirements as “far too short”.

“After five or even three years, it is not yet possible to determine with certainty whether integration has been successful in the long term,” he stated.

“The recent caliphate demonstrations and the rampant Islamist extremism, often by people with German passports, must be a wake-up call for us all.”

READ ALSO: Which foreign residents are likely to become German after citizenship law change?

Despite vociferous opposition, the alliance between the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party (CSU) was powerless to stop the traffic-light coalition’s citizenship reform passing in both the Bundestag and Bundesrat earlier this year. 

The reform, which permits the holding of multiple passports, lowers residence requirements and removes language hurdles for certain groups, is set to come into force on June 27th. 

But with the CDU and CSU emerging as clear winners in the recent EU parliamentary elections and regularly landing on 30 percent or above in the polls, it’s possible that the party could be on course to re-enter government next year. 

In this situation, the centre-right parties have pledged to try and undo what senior CDU politicians have described as a “dangerous” reform.

“It is not unusual for successive governments to reverse decisions made by the previous government,” Andrea Lindholz, the head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group said in a recent response to a question

“We will maintain our position on this and will continue to strive for a corresponding change.”

READ ALSO: What are citizenship offices around Germany doing to prepare for the new law?

Whether the CDU and CSU can secure enough votes at both state and federal elections to change the law in the future remains to be seen.

The parties may also have to compromise on their plans with any future coalition partner, such as the Greens, Social Democrats (SPD) or Free Democrats (FDP), all of whom support liberal immigration laws and the holding of multiple nationalities. 

‘Citizenship devaluation law’

The CDU and CSU parties, which form a centre-right alliance nicknamed the Union, have long been opposed to dual nationality in Germany.

During their years of governing in a so-called grand coalition with the centre-right Social Democrats (SPD), the parties had regularly made reforms of citizenship one of their red lines, citing the danger of hostile nations influencing Germany from within. 

In a recent parliamentary speech back in January, Throm had slammed the bill as a “citizenship devaluation law” and accused the government of trying to generate a new electorate to win votes.

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

In comments aimed primarily at Germany’s large Turkish diaspora, the CDU politician claimed that people who had lived in Germany for decades but not taken German citizenship had already chosen their old country over Germany.

The majority of Turks in Germany are also supporters of the authoritarian president Recep Erdogan, he argued.

Responding to the claims, FDP migration expert Ann-Veruschka Jurisch said the opposition was fuelling resentments against migrants by claiming the government was “squandering German citizenship”.

In fact, she argued, the reform has tightened up requirements by ensuring that people who claim benefits and cannot support themselves are unable to become German citizens.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Germany’s citizenship law reform

In addition, the B1 language requirements have only been softened in a few exceptional cases, for example to honour the lifetime achievements of the guest worker generation who had few opportunities when they arrived, Jurisch said. 

If foreigners have committed crimes, the authorities will be able to investigate whether these involved racist or anti-Semitic motives before citizenship is granted, she added. 

With reporting by DPA

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