Hubertus Heil, labour minister, Germany, recently met trained nurses in Kerala, India as part of Germany’s efforts to bring more skilled Indian workers into Germany. It is clear from Heil’s visit that Germany is eager to promote the immigration of Indian skilled professionals in a bid to tackle the shortage of skilled workers there, as older employees retire. There are nearly two million unfilled job positions in the country, according to the Federal Institute for Employment Research (IAB). Although job seekers from the European Union can work in Germany without additional visa obstacles, the available workforce is still not enough to fill the growing demand for skilled labour.
During his visit to India for the meeting of G20 labour ministers, Heil expressed interest in promoting the immigration of talent from India to Germany. The German Federal Employment Agency and the German Society for International Cooperation have been hiring skilled nurses from Kerala for about a year now.
Germany is also keen to simplify the work visa rules for IT talent from India, as the demand for software developers in Germany is quite high.
Not only is Germany trying to modernise the process of visa issuance, but it is also working on relaxing rules so that more skilled talent from India can be drawn towards the country for jobs. A new law will soon be implemented, within the next eight months, that will make it simpler for skilled professionals from outside to enter Germany for work.
