Bangkok, Berlin Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil addresses the young Indians who are crowded in the rows of plastic chairs directly: “My message is: We need you,” said the SPD politician in English when he visited the Goethe Center in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, on Thursday.
From this southern Indian state, nurses should make the long journey to Germany to alleviate the shortage of skilled workers there. Here in the Goethe Center they acquire their first knowledge of German. The minister’s trip can be followed on social networks, even if you’re not there yourself.
As Labor Minister, Heil initially wants to increase the employment of women and older people at home and qualify the unemployed – i.e. leverage domestic potential. But without immigration, the minister keeps saying, Germany’s workforce will shrink dramatically due to aging.
Since migration from EU countries is declining, hopes rest primarily on skilled workers from third countries outside the Union. This is one of the reasons why the traffic light coalition has once again simplified migration law. Heil has already promoted Germany as a country of immigration in Canada, Brazil and Ghana, but there are particularly high hopes for India.
The country has a young and often well-educated population, many of whom are IT professionals. As early as the turn of the millennium, the then red-green federal government had therefore tried to recruit computer experts from India, to which CDU election campaigner Jürgen Rüttgers reacted at the time with the controversial slogan “Children instead of Indians”.
Read more about the shortage of skilled workers
However, he did not damage Germany’s image in the long term. Today, the Federal Republic is an attractive destination for educational and employment migrants, especially from India. Around 5,500 of the approximately 200,000 Indians in Germany now have a job as an IT specialist that is subject to social security contributions. When it comes to the most popular countries for studying abroad, Germany ranks third in India.
Indians are the largest group of labor migrants from third countries in Germany
This is also reflected in the statistics in this country. In the middle of last year, a total of around 228,000 people from countries outside the EU lived temporarily in Germany to study or do an apprenticeship – almost every eighth of them came from India. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), only Chinese make up a larger proportion at 15 percent.
The opposite is true for the almost 416,000 migrant workers. Here, Indians make up the largest group with a share of around 13 percent, followed by immigrants from China with a good seven percent.
>> Read here: The immigration illusion – why more immigration won’t save us from labor shortages
Above all, it is highly educated academics who make their way to Germany from Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore. According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 89,000 foreigners living in Germany had an EU Blue Card at the end of 2022 – almost every third of them came from India.
University graduates can enter Germany with the EU Blue Card if they have a specific job offer with a gross annual salary of at least EUR 58,400. In the professional fields of mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, engineering and human medicine, the required salary threshold is currently 45,552 euros.
Young Indians are in demand in Germany, especially as IT specialists.
(Photo: DigitalVision/Getty Images)
According to their usually high qualifications, Indians are among the top earners in Germany. According to a study by the German Economic Institute (IW) published at the end of 2021, they earned an average of 4824 euros gross per month in a full-time job subject to social security contributions.
They were ahead of the Scandinavians, Austrians, Americans, Irish, British and Swiss, who also surpassed the 4,000 euro mark. According to this, German full-time employees earned an average gross monthly wage of 3541 euros.
Many Indians want to work abroad, at least part of the time
In order to further facilitate immigration, the German government signed a migration agreement with the government in New Delhi at the end of 2022. It is intended to set the course for “qualified young Indians in Germany to gain professional and practical experience, study, start an apprenticeship or work as a specialist,” as Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said at the time.
Read more about migration
Many young Indians are definitely interested in trying their luck abroad, at least temporarily. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), unemployment in the 15 to 24 age group is high at 23.2 percent.
There are various projects to attract skilled workers from abroad, including the “Triple Win” program. The young nursing staff, whom Labor Minister Heil will meet on Thursday at the Goethe Center in Thiruvananthapuram, should also come to Germany via this. The program is organized jointly by the Federal Employment Agency (BA) and the Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).
On the basis of a placement agreement with the foreign authorities, skilled workers are recruited, prepared for the German labor market with language courses, for example, and supported with the formalities – in the hope that integration in Germany will then succeed more quickly.
There is often a lack of medical specialists abroad, too.
(Photo: AP)
From the start of the program in 2013 to the end of last year, around 4,800 qualified nurses from partner countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Brazil have come to Germany, and a further 2,100 applicants are still preparing.
>> Read here: Hubertus Heil: The silent worker of the federal government
However, such partnerships are not unproblematic if they mean a brain drain for the countries of origin, i.e. a migration of qualified personnel who are needed at home. A study by the consulting firm KPMG and the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry FICCI showed last year that India itself suffers from a blatant shortage of skilled workers in the care sector, which threatens to worsen as a result of migration to richer countries.
According to the BA, it is therefore important to only recruit nurses in countries or regions where there is no risk of a brain drain. In India, it is mainly limited to the state of Kerala, since there is a surplus of staff there due to very good training capacities. There are 960 nurses per 100,000 inhabitants, in Germany there are only 750.
More: Federal Minister of Economics Habeck sees good opportunities for free trade agreements with India.