Germany: Thousands of job opportunities for Sri Lankans
Berlin: Germany is offering thousands of job opportunities for skilled Sri Lankans, South Asians and many other labour-sending countries as it battles an acute shortage of workers.
“We need one million skilled migrants per year. They will enjoy a high quality of life, have good access to health care and draw an attractive wage package,” said an international affairs expert speaking to a group of senior foreign journalists in Germany’s capital of Berlin.
The group of 10 journalists (seven from India and one each from Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh) was invited to Germany during October 6-12, 2024 to appraise their countries on the enormous opportunities available in Germany for skilled foreign workers. The trip was sponsored by the German Federal Office and organised by the Goethe Institute.
Fast train at a German railway station.
While everything seems perfect for foreign workers, language proficiency in German is a requirement and could be a deterrent. However German institutes like the Goethe Institute in South Asia are ramping up pre-departure language teaching to help migrants acquire some level of proficiency.
With the demand for thousands of skilled workers, Germany could become the new El Dorado after West Asia which has attracted skilled and unskilled workers from Sri Lanka and other countries over the past four decades.
Mostly in demand in Germany are nurses and IT professionals. While nurses require knowledge of the German language before departure as their work entails communicating with patients, IT professionals are allowed to acquire knowledge of the language after arriving in Germany and often their course fee, while learning on the job, is paid by the company.
The demand for workers extends to sectors like nurses, doctors, IT professionals, machine engineering (engineering that deals with tools, machinery, and the application of mechanics in industry), auto engineers, technicians, drivers, construction engineers, etc, according to Ms. Sonali Sahgal, Regional Coordinator Project – Pre-Integration (Living and Working in Germany), at Goethe’s Delhi Office.
Germany is also encouraging young people to follow higher study courses. For those who study in Germany, after graduation they are allowed to find a job and stay forever, as Germany relaxes rules for migration to meet the acute shortage of workers. Earlier students had to leave after graduation.
Some 30 per cent of the population has a migrant background – either one parent came from abroad or both parents were migrants.
Foreign affairs experts here were quizzed about the emergence of the Far Right and its anti-migrant policy. During recent elections, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Reuters: “The AfD (Far Right party) is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation.”
However experts here said there was reason for some optimism stalling the rise of the Far Right. “We have had many governments over the past 25 years but in general the policy of promoting skilled labour migration has remained unchanged,” one expert said.
Another expert said the government is encouraging legal and regular migration and discouraging illegal migration. “If there are 100,000 who possess the skills we require, we will recruit all. If there are 400,000 skilled people then we take them all,” he said.
Unlike the practice of securing a job with costs involved in West Asia, there are no costs of migrating to work in Germany. There are 27,190 Sri Lankans living and working in Germany.
Under a reintegration and transition management programme, the Goethe Institute provides a welcome coach in Germany to help new arrivals. “We started this process two years ago. Our mentors/coaches help immigrants in integrating and provide guidance,” an official said.
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