Interview
Seeing the potential
in immigration
Many sectors are urgently reliant on immigration of trained specialists. However, well-integrated international specialists often turn their backs on Germany once again. Prof. Dr. Bernhard Boockmann from the Institute for Applied Economic Research in Tübingen deals with labor market issues, including the impacts of labor market policies and the role of education and migration. We asked him about the reasons trained specialists migrate out of Germany, and about approaches for retaining them here.
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Boockmann
“The issue of qualification needs to be part of the equation right from the start. ”
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Boockmann, Institute for Applied Economic Research, Tübingen
Why do international specialists leave Germany?
A large portion of migration is caused by reasons related to the labor market, such as losing a job or – for international students – the end of their degree program. There are also family-related motives. Frequently, there are also economic reasons, like high rents. A small percentage of migrants list experiences of discrimination at the workplace at official agencies, or elsewhere as a reason they are leaving. Most are impacted by not just one, but several of these reasons.
Often, the reasons are highly personal. What levers are there to retain specialists in the other cases?
The available levers are just as diverse as the reasons they leave. When it comes to opportunities on the labor market, there are too few specific offers for international specialists or students, for instance from the German Federal Labor Agency or universities. We know of a lot of successful examples for qualifying and promoting international specialists from companies. We would like these approaches to become more widespread.
Linguistic fluency is a key factor in successful integration. How can language learning be simplified?
In general, there are a wide range of good language courses available, in particular professional language courses available full-time, although these are directed less towards employees and more towards job seekers. Teaching of the German language should be tied more closely to professional practice. There are a lot of practical difficulties, from the ability to physically get to language courses to childcare. The key is identifying problems on site and ensuring municipalities, companies, associations, and other stakeholders work together to find solutions.
Employers in the healthcare sector already have a lot of experience with international specialists. Can they serve as a model for other industries?
Healthcare employers sometimes take a very systematic approach to recruiting new employees abroad. Generally, sectors organized into smaller companies cannot do this However, there are examples of trade companies impacted severely by a lack of trained professionals which get together and look for specialists internationally.
What do you think of the recently reformed Skilled Immigration Act?
The law has significantly improved opportunities for specialists to immigrate and work here. However, there are problems less with legal paths to immigration, but rather in the area of public administration – at German embassies abroad and at the immigration offices in Germany. The Skilled Immigration Act creates additional work for official agencies; most of them are dealing with staff shortages, and cannot complete their work as the legislature intended.
Will the law improve immigration numbers?
We do not yet have numbers on whether immigration of trained specialists has increased. Of course, we do not expect the numbers to jump suddenly – due to the time required from the decision to completing immigration, and secondly due to administrative difficulties.
Is it realistic to achieve a qualified immigration within the required scope? The IAB, for instance, speaks of net immigration of 400,000 persons each year.
Due to refugees, we have not been far from net immigration in this range on average over the last ten years. You can see that it is very difficult to project the scope of any migration movement, because there are different reasons for in migration.
People who are already in Germany should be seen more for the potential they offer for the labor market. More must be done in the educational system, in the workplace, in public administrations and in society for integration. In addition, it may make sense to conduct targeted international recruiting in certain career fields with particular shortages. Companies will be primarily required to do this work.
