Muzaffar Khan
The German cabinet has unveiled measures designed to entice Indian workers to join the country’s labor market. The move comes days before the visit of Chancellor Olaf Schulz and other senior officials to New Delhi.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz’s cabinet on Wednesday 16 October 2024 approved a resolution of 30 measures — proposed by the Labor Ministry and the Foreign Ministry — aimed at filling gaps in Germany’s labor market for skilled workers. Designed to promote immigration from India in an effort to attract
Officials, businesses and economists say the shortage of skilled workers threatens German innovation and economic growth.
“Germany needs more economic growth and for that it needs qualified skilled labor,” said German Labor Minister Huberts-Heil, speaking about the government’s targeted efforts.
In an aging society notoriously understaffed due to demographic changes, Germany has long looked abroad to prop up its economy.
The situation is quite the opposite in India, Hale said earlier this week, with a million new people entering the labor market every month. Although it is the fifth largest economy in the world, India’s labor market cannot keep pace with the large number of potential workers.
The situation is that India is the most populous country on the planet and has pushed for more labor migration from the country.
This is why Germany sees India as a particularly important partner when it comes to skilled labor migration, according to a Berlin strategy paper on the issue.
Germany hopes that these measures will help it fill gaps in the health industry – for example, the IT sector needs more skilled labor than any other in nursing homes and hospitals, as well as IT and the construction sector. has raised its voice and warned that it cannot simply fill the posts
Labor Minister Hale will join India’s Chancellor Schools and other senior government representatives in the last week of October. There he is scheduled to visit a school to talk to students about possible futures in Germany, as well as talk about traditional jobs during a visit to a bakery specializing in German breads.
It has been observed that Germany is known for its complex and inflexible bureaucracy, which often deters foreigners. To streamline the migration of skilled workers from India, the government in Berlin has said it will introduce a new digital visa by the end of 2024.
Berlin also plans to hold job fairs in India as well as offer German classes for those planning to relocate. The Federal Labor Office has also said it will become more active in advising Indian college students already in Germany. This strategy is consistent with the Cabinet approach as well as the Foreign Office’s focus on India.
The Labor Minister termed Indian migration as a success story The influx of skilled Indian workers is already a success story for our country, Labor Minister Hale said
Noting that the initiatives outlined in the Government’s Skilled Labor Strategy will lay the foundation for furthering this achievement.
According to federal labor ministry statistics, about 137,000 Indians were employed in skilled labor positions in February 2024, an increase of about 23,000 over the previous year.
In 2015, the total number of Indians in such jobs was around 23,000.
Current statistics also show that unemployment among Indians living in Germany is only 3.7 percent, which is much lower than the overall unemployment rate of 7.1 percent.
It is clear that Germany is trying to attract foreign students and skilled workers. It is also clear that Germany is looking to India to help keep its economy on track.
