Germany To Open Its Doors As Labour Shortage Bites

Eisenh�ttenstadt, Germany, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Mar, 2023 ) :An apprenticeship at a steelmaker brought Steven Maillot from the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean to Eisenhuettenstadt in Germany, a stone's throw from the Polish border.

Better pay and better job prospects were the deciding factors for Maillot -- a relief for ArcelorMittal, where the group's Germany chief Reiner Blaschek acknowledged that attracting young trainees like the 23-year-old is becoming "increasingly difficult".

A shortage of skilled workers has become a major headache for businesses in Europe's largest economy, as vast cohorts of older employees go into retirement.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government is battling to find an answer to the challenge of Germany's rapidly ageing population.

Just under two million job posts were unfilled at the end of 2022 in Germany, according to the Federal Institute for Employment Research (IAB).

Job seekers from the European Union, like Maillot, can already work in Germany with no additional visa hurdles, but even the pool of human resource is insufficient.

On Wednesday, Scholz's cabinet is due to discuss a draft bill aimed at easing immigration rules to attract more workers from further afield to the country.

Making the most out of the workers already in Germany would "not be enough" to fill the gap, Scholz told parliament earlier this month.

"We will also attract urgently needed workers by opening up legal migration channels," he said.

The bill will create a new points-based system for qualified people hoping to obtain visas for Germany, with criteria to include the ability to speak German, job qualifications and age.