German is a hurdle in the international competition for skilled workers.
Demands for English as the second official language are becoming louder.
This is partly already lived reality.
Berlin/Cologne – One man's joy, another man's sorrow, the Bavarian Digital Minister Judith Gerlach apparently thought.
She commented on the wave of layoffs in US Silicon Valley on LinkedIn: "I would like to cordially invite you to move to Bavaria." Rosenheim, Augsburg or Munich instead of San Francisco?
Let's go - or better: Let's go.
Appropriately, Klaus Olbricht, Vice President of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, recently suggested introducing English as a second official language in the fight against the shortage of skilled workers in Germany.
A look at practice shows that English is already a living reality, at least in the start-up scene and partly in German medium-sized companies.
English as second official language: start-up association calls for language barriers to be removed
"The dominant working language in German startups is English at 30 percent," says Niclas Vogt from the startup association to the
Münchner Merkur
from
IPPEN.MEDIA.
This applies in particular to the metropolises of Munich (42.5 percent) and Berlin (62.9 percent).
He refers to the "German Startup Monitor" from 2020. "Startups would benefit enormously if English became more established.
The metropolises of Berlin and Munich are also more attractive for startups because more English is spoken there,” says Vogt.
To make matters worse, the language is a major hurdle for founders with a migration background.
"From our point of view, politicians are clearly required to remove language barriers and offer official forms in English," says Niclas Vogt.
Especially in the areas of IT, sales and marketing, German startups are urgently dependent on skilled workers from abroad.
Vogt therefore relies on accelerated and facilitated immigration, as planned by the federal government with the renewal of the Skilled Immigration Act: "It is elementary for start-ups to significantly simplify and, above all, accelerate immigration from third countries.
The waiver of language certificates can be a game changer.”
At the end of last year, the federal government announced that it wanted to make it easier for workers to immigrate and to further develop the 2020 Skilled Immigration Act.
"Unfortunately, the idea that all skilled workers in the world want to come to Germany is an illusion," said Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil at the time.
This is also due to the German language.
A draft law is in the works and is scheduled to be presented to the Bundestag in the first quarter of 2023.
German medium-sized companies: in the fight against the shortage of skilled workers dependent on the immigration of qualified people
But not only in the startup scene, but also in German medium-sized companies, English is omnipresent.
Steffen Kawohl from the Deutscher Mittelstands-Bund (DMB) emphasizes
that
English is particularly in demand in the MINT area.
The spread of the English language represents a win-win situation for German medium-sized companies. “In the fight against the shortage of skilled workers, the German economy is dependent on the immigration of qualified employees.
With increasing opportunities to exchange ideas in English, the language barrier for international skilled workers would disappear and the German job market would become more attractive,” says Kawohl to the
Münchner Merkur
from
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
At the same time, Germany will become more attractive as a location for international business partners and customers, and competitiveness will increase.
Meanwhile, the German Civil Servants Association (DBB) is cautious.
DBB President Ulrich Silberbach points out that English is already widely spoken in the authorities.
In addition, instead of English, French, Arabic and Farsi would be needed.
“Language skills in administration are above all a question of money.
We need training, translation tools and linguists, but these are all investments in staff and the employers are happy to put the brakes on.
The German administration is as international as you let it be.
A general requirement for English doesn't help us, but more know-how for the staff," says Silberbach.
Living reality is one thing, the official acceptance of English as a second official language is something completely different.
Because German is stipulated by federal law.
Consequently, the federal and state governments would have to agree – so far only the FDP has advocated such a change.
