- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Germany's 'Lack of Skilled Workforce' a Result of Problems in Education Policy

© Flickr / Craig WyzikBerlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany - Sputnik International
Subscribe
German industry constantly complains about the lack of qualified specialists. In 2015, the country hosted one million asylum seekers, but failed to attract a skilled international workforce that could further boost the country's economy and its competitiveness on the global stage, German media reported.

Far right-wing supporters march during rally against the German government's immigration policies and migrants, near-by the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. - Sputnik International
Migrants Flow to Germany Slowing Down by Thousands
Against this background, Germany's Green Party introduced an initiative called "The five-step plan on immigration of specialists," a concept for a more targeted migration policy designed to ensure so called "responsible migration" and attract skilled specialists from all over the world.

In particular, it provides for creation of a special immigration commission which would control and analyze how many highly qualified specialists and skilled workers come to the country each year.

In an interview with Sputnik, Karl Brenke, an expert on the labor market at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), said, however, that there is no lack of skilled employees in Germany. He noted that the statements of the German authorities that welcome migration as a way to solve the country's labor problems do not correspond with reality and that the new initiative is pointless.

"According to my calculations, we don't have a widespread deficit among specialists. If it existed, we would have seen a more rapid increase in wages, especially among highly skilled professionals. But in recent years, we haven't witnessed anything like that," the expert stated.

Of course, there are fields where there is a lack of skilled employees, in particular in the care of elderly and sick, Brenke noted. However, this is not surprising as the pay and working conditions in this sphere are quite poor.

"This is a problem of our policy in the field of education and employment. It's a matter of retraining opportunities and, of course, the salary," the expert said.

In his opinion, the new initiative of the Green Party is "just a PR" that wouldn't bring any practical results and change situation for the better.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала