Germany is facing a labour shortage in several crucial sectors across the country, as revealed by the country’s authorities.
Henceforth, Germany is looking abroad to attract skilled workers, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Regarding this issue, a German delegation headed by the migration commissioner Joachim Stamp visited Columbia last week, where a collaborative steering group was established, as reported by InfoMigrants.
The German Minister of the Interior and Community, Nancy Faeser, noted the country aims to lower illegal immigration while enhancing legal labour migration. Among others, she said Colombia has a lot of young workers who would prefer to work either temporarily or permanently in Germany.
We want to consistently enforce the return of people without the right to stay — and on the other hand, we want to attract qualified workers that we urgently need in many sectors of our economy.
On the other hand, Germany received over 3,300 asylum applications from Columbians last year. While several requests are still pending, the majority of decided applications were refused.
Despite Columbians, Germany aims to attract foreign labour from other countries as well. Last December, Germany reached a similar agreement with Georgia and with Morocco in January of this year.
According to InfoMigrants, similar migration agreements are planned with Kenya, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Up to 2 Million Job Vacancies in Germany
Last month, the German Minister of Economy, Robert Habbeck, said the country is dealing with about two million job vacancies, as reported by Anadolu Agency.
Our biggest concern is the shortage of skilled workers. We have more than 700,000 registered vacancies, but many companies are no longer reporting their vacancies. According to the estimates, we have nearly 2 million vacancies.
To address the labour shortage, Habeck further said the ministry will increase its efforts to draw more skilled international workers.
Germany Recorded 1.38 million Unemployed Residents In January This Year
Despite authorities’ efforts to attract foreign workers, the number of unemployed people within the country has increased.
According to Destatis, the country’s statistical office, 1.38 million people in Germany were unemployed in January 2024. Such a figure represented a 2.3 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
On the other hand, employment has increased as well. Destatis data unveiled that in January of this year, nearly 45.7 million residents in Germany were employed, which is 0.5 per cent more compared to January 2023.
