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Federal government: Training guarantee and immigration of skilled workers decided

Federal government: Training guarantee and immigration of skilled workers decided

There is a shortage of workers in many sectors – the federal government wants to remedy the situation. It is about more funding for training and further education. And simplified immigration for non-EU citizens.

With a legally anchored guarantee, the federal government wants to help as many young people who want it as possible to get an apprenticeship – if necessary also in external institutions.

This is what the draft for a new law to strengthen the promotion of training and further education by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) provides, which the federal cabinet in Berlin passed. With a draft for a reformed immigration law for skilled workers, the cabinet has also launched a second project to help entrepreneurs who are – sometimes desperately – looking for qualified employees.

Vocational training in external facilities

The Federal Ministry of Labor emphasized that off-the-job training should remain the exception. Training positions in companies should also have priority. A mobility bonus is intended to make it easier for young people to accept training places in more distant regions. Anyone who has not yet decided on a profession should be able to receive support through an internship for career orientation. An entitlement to off-the-job training is also to be newly created, so that young people can also have a perspective without a regular training position. “Vocational training in external facilities should be used as a supplement where necessary, but remains the ultima ratio”, i.e. the last resort, according to the draft.

“2.3 million young people are without completed vocational training, over 200,000 young people are parked in a transitional system,” said Juso chairwoman Jessica Rosenthal. “So far we have not managed to get every young person an apprenticeship – that will change now.”

The Further Education Act also provides for a qualification allowance as wage replacement. The employees of companies undergoing structural change should be able to be released for further training. Heil gave the example of employees at an automotive supplier who need new skills due to the shift from combustion engines to e-mobility.

Introduction of a so-called “opportunity card”

In addition to various simplifications – such as family reunification and the recognition of professional qualifications – the draft for the new Skilled Immigration Act includes the introduction of a so-called “chance card” based on a points system. The criteria taken into account when calculating the number of points include language skills, professional experience, age and connection to Germany.

The “chance card” gives qualified foreigners one year to find a job in Germany. So that job seekers can stay afloat financially during this time, it also offers opportunities for trial work or part-time employment during this time. Changing to a residence permit for gainful employment or educational purposes is permitted. “This also serves to open up new potential for suitable workers for the German labor market who have not been able to find a job up to now,” says the draft. The requirements for a residence permit to look for a training place are lowered.

Reform of the nationality law

However, there is still a need for coordination with the FDP on the planned reform of nationality law, which Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) would have liked to bring into the cabinet together with the draft law on immigration of skilled workers. The Liberals are not against allowing dual citizenship in principle for non-EU citizens as well. They also agree to the reduction of the minimum period of residence, usually from eight years to five years. When it comes to other requirements for naturalization – language and securing one’s own livelihood – the Liberals do not want to make any compromises and allow fewer exceptions. Immigration of skilled workers and the acquisition of citizenship “they belong together,” emphasized Faeser.

Addressing the Union, the minister said that without a “welcome culture”, Germany would lose out in the competition for the brightest minds. The deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group, Andrea Lindholz, considers an amendment to the Skilled Immigration Act, which has been in force for three years, to be unnecessary. From her point of view, it would be more important to solve practical problems with the implementation, added the CSU member of the Bundestag. “The German missions abroad don’t have enough staff to process applications from migrant workers quickly, and it takes too long for qualifications to be recognized.”

Employer President Rainer Dulger, who is generally positive about the reform, sees a major problem here. He said: “Laws are one thing, processes and procedures are another.” In the German visa offices and immigration authorities, the processes would have to become faster, simpler and more digital, “instead of building more bureaucratic castles in the air”.

According to the draft law, anyone who has a degree that is recognized in Germany should also be able to work in another qualified job in the future. Anyone who has at least two years of professional experience and a qualification recognized abroad should not necessarily have to have this qualification recognized from abroad, but can also do it later in Germany.

Source: Stern

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