The debate has been going on for years about whether Germany needs a different, more open immigration policy, especially to cushion the shortage of skilled workers. Now a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has revealed some amazing things: Germany is already one of the top destinations in the world for young, well-educated migrants. When it comes to the very important question of accessibility, which is measured in the issuing of work visas, Germany even ranks first. In terms of attractiveness as a location, however, Germany ranks fourth behind Canada, the USA and Australia and thus slips by two places compared to the last survey from 2018. If you take both factors together, Germany and Canada are the top destinations for international talent. This means people who have at least a bachelor’s degree and will earn at least 60,000 euros.
“Basically, Germany is already much more open than many think,” is the verdict of the economist Johann Harnoss, who contributed part of the analysis for the management consultancy. Especially when it comes to the influx of highly qualified people, Germany is one of the most open countries in the world.
The survey is partly based on data from the study series Decoding global talent, the last edition of which in 2020 surveyed over 200,000 people in 190 countries. In order to measure how accessible a country is, Harnoss and his colleague Anna Schwarz took into account the ten countries with the highest immigration, as well as Japan and India, and then assessed the issue of work visas according to the law. It was relevant, for example, whether a country has an upper limit for such visas or whether an employment contract is required at the time of application. In Germany it is sufficient that an applicant can prove that they are looking for a job – unlike in the USA or Australia, for example.
But how does Germany’s good performance fit in with the alleged shortage of skilled workers that is invoked in the public debate? “The There is no shortage of skilled workers, “clarifies researcher Christina Hoon from Bielefeld University.” Some companies are good at obtaining visas for top people Hierarchy below.
Germany is having a hard time integrating international skilled workers
If you look at the demographics and thus the increasing aging of German society, migration of workers will become more and more important in the next few years. “I think Germany is basically on the right path,” says Harnoss, “but if you look at the figures, this path is simply being taken far too slowly.” Around 40,000 workers came to Germany from third countries last year, i.e. countries outside the EU. That is not enough, according to the management consultant.
An important factor for more skilled workers from abroad to take advantage of the openness and come to Germany is the language. “During recruiting, you are still asked whether an applicant speaks German or not,” explains Maike Andresen, who, as a professor of business administration at the University of Bamberg, has specialized in human resource management, among other things. There would be several obvious advantages if companies also allowed English as the working language: On the one hand, a company could become more attractive for applicants from abroad. On the other hand, the newly acquired employee is also more productive as soon as he is there: “When the language stresses me, I cannot concentrate on my professional performance.”
Her colleague Christina Hoon from Bielefeld points out another point: German companies tend to find it difficult to deal with cultural diversity, even if they sell their products all over the world. This fits the observation made by management consultant Johann Harnoss: “I think in Germany there are sometimes reservations about people from Muslim countries.”