2nd session: Feb. 1 24

Skills shortage in Germany: Anja discusses the significant skills shortage in Germany, which is exacerbated by the ageing population (the baby boomers are retiring) and the need for immigration to maintain the labor pool. The shortage is influenced by factors such as demographic change, decarbonization and digitalization, which are currently causing a shortage of more than 2 million skilled workers.

Migration and legislative changes: The influx of immigrants from both EU and non-EU countries (especially India) has been unabated for a long time and has been encouraged by legislative changes to liberalize immigration policy. Important reforms in 2020 have made it easier for qualified skilled workers to settle in Germany, particularly through the EU Blue Card introduced in 2009, which was further liberalized in 2021 to attract skilled workers without burdening the social system.

EU Blue Card and its effects: The issuing of the EU Blue Card has increased significantly in Germany: 25,000 new Blue Cards will be issued in 2021, of which 45% of skilled workers will be new to the country. Most of these cardholders come from India, among other countries, and are encouraged to settle and integrate in Germany, with more and more of them obtaining a permanent residence permit over time.

Simplified access for qualified workers: Germany has increasingly facilitated access to the labor market for qualified professionals, particularly in the IT sector, where individuals can now work without formal requirements. A list of shortage occupations illustrates the need for foreign skilled workers. Above all, qualified individuals now have a legal entitlement to a residence permit, which signals a shift towards the recognition of professional skills. The actual employment no longer has to correspond to the individual qualification. The main thing is that you have a qualification

Future prospects and liberalization trends: Despite the focus on formal qualifications and degrees, there is an ongoing debate and a gradual trend towards further liberalization of policies to address the skills shortage. Various initiatives such as the “Chancenkarte” aim to target different groups of potential immigrants, indicating a gradual change in the German approach to integrating foreign skilled workers into the labor market. Further liberalization is expected in the coming years in order to meet the growing demand for skilled workers.

Sebastian from the Austrian Young Workers’ Movement (ÖJAB) presents the organization’s commitment to care for the elderly and senior citizens since the 1980s and reports on its current activities, which include four care homes, a mobile home care service in Vienna and a nursing school with a total of around 550 employees.

In order to counteract the shortage of qualified specialists in the care sector, ÖJAB opened its own nursing school in 2020, which offers a one-year training course to become a nursing assistant, which is recognized as the entry level of the three-stage nursing training in Austria.

The school also focuses on the recognition and certification process (nostrification) for nursing qualifications acquired abroad, a non-trivial bureaucratic procedure that ÖJAB supports with its expertise, especially as 80% of its nursing staff’s qualifications were acquired abroad.

For people without a nursing background or those who have not successfully completed the recognition process, as well as for those interested in pursuing a career in nursing, the school offers a one-year training course to become a nursing assistant. The training not only offers a state-recognized qualification, but also includes German as a care language to support non-native speakers in this area.

The ÖJAB initiative not only counteracts the domestic shortage of nursing professionals, but also integrates foreign professionals into the Austrian nursing sector by offering them a pathway through the nursing school’s training and support programs.