Photo taken by Chad Miller (Flickr.com)
About 12 million people living in Germany were born in another country. Germany is considered a country of immigration and more and more foreigners aim to live and work in Germany. The country will face an extreme skill shortage in the upcoming years due to its ageing population, so the government decided to attract workers from abroad.
Why is Germany so popular compared to other European countries?
1. German apprenticeship program
In 2012 the German government introduced an apprenticeship program in six other EU countries (Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Slovakia and Latvia).
The German apprenticeship program offers work to young foreigners. It consists of vocational training, which lasts about three years. The participants will take part in a dual program of training and education. This means they will go to university or school and work part-time at a company and get a salary. Additionally, they have the opportunity to attend German classes for free. Experts say this kind of dual education, which is very experience-oriented, is a crucial factor for Germany’s job market. At only 8%, the country has one of the lowest youth unemployment rates among EU countries.
Consequently, German employers searching for the best candidates should widen their search to other European countries. The German apprentice program helps recruiters to find the best candidates for the job they are offering and is supported by the government. The aim is to set up over 30,000 exchanges between the participating countries and Germany. If you are interested in participating in this program, whether you are an employee or a recruitment specialist, more information can be found here.
2. Strong economy
Of course, Germany has suffered from the worldwide economic and financial crisis of 2008, but not as much as other countries. Besides, it has recovered quite fast and is still the 5th largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).
The German economy is one of the reasons why foreigner workers are attracted to the country. It is strong and stable. Experts say the German economy will retain its strong position in the future. This is important to consider for future employees as well as for employers. In general, German companies can afford to choose the best talents for their open positions and have the chance to search worldwide.
3. Social security system
Germany has a well-developed social security system. This is important for both employees and employers. As an employee you are fully insured against major risks such as illness, occupational accidents and unemployment. Furthermore, you have a pension claim after you have worked for some years. This guarantees people a high standard of living. Employees and employers pay a certain amount into the social security funds, which depends on their income among other criteria.
This tends to be very attractive to foreigners since not many other countries can offer such a high standard of social security.
These are only three reasons why foreigners would like to work in Germany. Not only Germany will suffer from a skills shortage. In a few years, this will be a serious problem for many other European countries as well. Recruitment specialists should start thinking about the reasons why people should come to their country and try to attract them as soon as possible.
Please share your ideas on how to attract foreign talent to your country in the comments below!