Skilled workers for companies – sustainable development worldwide
Skilled labour migration - Why fairness matters and how GIZ can help
Germany’s skilled workers are a crucial driver of innovation, competitiveness, growth, employment, prosperity and quality of life. They make our economy stronger and underpin our social welfare systems. Against the background of demographic change, however, we face an acute shortage of skilled workers. The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) currently estimates the number of vacancies at around two million. This shortage of qualified people is particularly marked in social and technical professions and in the healthcare system. In the care sector alone, there are many more vacancies than unemployed skilled workers, yet experts predict that around 150,000 additional carers will be needed in Germany by 2025. What’s more, these challenges are not just a temporary phenomenon. They are escalating into a serious crisis.
Benefits for companies, skilled workers and the countries of origin
Many German companies look abroad to find the skilled workers they urgently need. While this is a promising approach, it is also one that presents many hurdles. GIZ is helping to overcome these obstacles through a fair system of skilled labour migration that benefits everyone involved. It advises companies and skilled workers at every stage – from the initial job application through to the successful integration of new employees in Germany. Importantly, both sides must benefit. After all, skilled workers who have been fairly recruited tend to stay longer with their employer. In addition, as a provider of sustainable development services, GIZ supports the efforts being made by countries of origin, e.g. to reduce labour market pressures, improve vocational training or create a legal framework for fair migration. It also takes care not to create a new shortage of skilled workers as a result of emigration from those countries. The sustainable partnerships established in this way allow German companies to attract qualified skilled workers from abroad on a long-term basis.
6.500 skilled workers since 2013
Since 2013, GIZ has placed a total of around 6,500 foreign skilled workers and trainees in Germany. At present, this service is primarily focused on the care sector, although GIZ also provides recruitment support to the hotel and catering industry and to companies in the electrical engineering, energy and building technology, IT, metalworking and logistics sectors. According to one evaluation, over 90 per cent of the employees placed by GIZ feel comfortable with their new employer and would recommend the service to others.
The services offered by GIZ are aimed not only at German companies and skilled workers but also at government bodies and educational institutions in our partner countries. Thanks to its international expertise and long-standing working relationships in Germany and abroad, GIZ is the ideal partner when it comes to recruiting and placing skilled workers in Germany in accordance with fair migration principles.
