Svenja Schulze (SPD, l), Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Hubertus Heil (SPD, M), Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, visit the KAD textile factory in Ghana. © Christophe Gateau/dpa
In combating its shortage of skilled workers, Germany should not rely haphazardly on Africa. Although many young people dream of living and working in the West, the hurdles to coming to Germany are still high.
Language, culture and a bureaucratic bottleneck are the main obstacles.
This analysis is IPPEN. MEDIA in the course of a cooperation with the Europe.Table Professional Briefing – it was first published by Europe.Table on 02 May 2023.
A few weeks ago in Ghana: Development Minister Schulze and Labour Minister Heil opened the "Ghanaian-European Centre for Jobs, Migration and Development" in the capital Accra. It could serve as a blueprint for further planned centres in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Nigeria. The BMZ is investing 150 million euros in this measure.
But the interest has so far been manageable. Germany's acute shortage of skilled workers has changed the language in the debate about skilled migration: "Stay where you are" – that was the sound of past years. Today, on the other hand: "Please come if you can do something!". New tones towards Africa. And – do they make Germany more attractive?
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There is a lack of immigrant spirit
Many young people with specialist knowledge are reluctant, and there are reasons for this. One of the most common is that the German language is difficult, but a prerequisite. Even if you learn them before applying for a visa, there is no guarantee that this will be sufficient for a positive decision. English or French are not official languages in this country. Only four percent of all jobs in Germany are advertised in English, although the world language is completely normal in many jobs today. Chris Pyak, career coach for international specialists, therefore recommends more practical relevance when it comes to language acquisition.
Germany needs a new culture towards immigrants, an immigrant spirit: "If we want the best to come to us, then we have to make an effort to attract them. Otherwise, only those who have no choice will come." From Pyak's point of view, it would be wiser to let applicants work in Germany in the future even without a recognized degree and to make up for recognition.
Procedures could become simpler
The latter can actually be found in the draft law on the new Skilled Immigration Act, which was recently passed. According to this, a recognition procedure for professional qualifications acquired abroad can also be started in Germany – unlike in the past. With a so-called recognition partnership, employees and employers commit themselves to carrying out a post-qualification until the professional qualification is fully recognised.
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Part of the new law is also the "opportunity card". According to this, migrant workers from third countries, such as in Africa, must have undergone two years of training in their country of origin and speak sufficiently german. In addition, they must be able to provide for their own livelihood and achieve at least six points on the opportunity card according to criteria such as language or professional experience.
Seeing immigration as an opportunity
Migration as an opportunity, not as a bogeyman – this is the BMZ's Africa strategy, which Table.Media presented back in February. For Christof Baum, head of a solar training center near the Ghanaian capital Accra, this realization comes rather late. "Africa didn't happen at all, politics completely missed it. It only perceived Africans as refugees, not as skilled workers."
On behalf of the Catholic religious community of Don Bosco, Baum has been training solar technicians on the continent for years and is trying to place them in Germany. His ideal scenario is for the young people to go to Germany for a few years, earn money there, gain experience and return to their homeland to build something there.
There is already a job offer for his solar technicians, but the procedure for the recognition of the qualifications has been pending for months. "They are urgently needed in Germany, they can't find work here, and yet it doesn't work. That's nonsense," Baum says angrily.
Too often there is no visa
And then there's the matter of the visa – you can't do anything without it. The issue is still one of the biggest stumbling blocks in labour migration. The fact that German authorities insinuate that many applicants are using the Schengen visa to organize an escape route to Europe is perceived by many Africans as a humiliation. Sometimes there is no visa even for private family celebrations of relatives in Germany, and inviting visiting scholars is often complicated. In addition, in 24 of the 55 African countries, there is no German diplomatic mission that would issue visas at all.
It is therefore hardly surprising that skilled immigration from Africa is manageable. So far, there has been no significant labour migration from Europe's southern neighbour to Germany. German companies are still very reluctant to recruit in Africa, although there is often rave about Africa's workforce potential. Here, Germany may be missing a strategic opportunity to attract new and urgently needed skilled workers.
Strategic question of the future unresolved
Africa's demographic development is enormous: according to projections by the United Nations, African society will at least double to 2050.2 billion people by 5.
Germany should not wait for immigrants from EU countries. After all, many EU countries are in a similar situation to us when society is shrinking and ageing.
So the strategic question of who should ensure the prosperity of tomorrow is slowly getting serious. Anuscheh Farahat, Professor of Migration Law and Human Rights at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, pleads for more experimentation. Of course, migration from Africa could be an opportunity for Germany, but not on the assumption that we will get the perfectly educated people. There is a need for migration policy programmes that are adapted to the labour market. In addition, immigration is based on reciprocity. If Germany wants to do this, it must also commit itself to social integration: no ghettoization of newcomers, affordable housing, cultural offerings, a new education policy. "The commitment to the free democratic basic order alone will not be enough." (Harald Prokosch)
