German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Cabinet on Wednesday passed a raft of 30 measures — put forth largely by the Labor and Foreign Ministries — designed to foster immigration from India in an effort to attract skilled workers to fill gaps in Germany's labor market.

A lack of skilled workers, say officials, businesses and economists, is threatening German innovation and economic growth.

German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, speaking of the government's targeted efforts, said, "Germany needs more economic dynamism and that requires qualified skilled labor."

Notoriously short-staffed, in part due to shifting demographics in an aging society, Germany has long looked abroad to keep its economy moving forward.

"The situation in India is just the opposite," said Heil earlier this week, "One million new people enter the labor market each month." Though it is the world's fifth-largest economy, India's labor market simply cannot keep pace with the sheer number of potential workers.

The situation has prompted India — the most-populous country on the planet — to push for more labor migration.

"That is why Germany views India as an especially important partner when it comes to the issue of skilled labor migration," according to Berlin's strategy paper on the issue.

Germany hopes the measures will allow it to fill gaps in the health industry — for instance in nursing homes and hospitals — as well as in the IT and construction sectors. More than any, the IT sector has clamored for more skilled labor, warning that it simply cannot fill positions.

Cabinet members will make their pitch in India

Labor Minister Heil will join Chancellor Scholz and other high-ranking government representatives in India next week. There, he is scheduled to talk about traditional jobs during a visit to a bakery specializing in German breads, as well as visiting a school to talk with students about a possible future in Germany.

Still, Germany is known for its complicated and inflexible bureaucracy, something that often stymies foreigners. In order to streamline the migration of skilled laborers from India, the government in Berlin has said that it will introduce a new digital visa by the end of 2024.

Beyond that, Berlin plans to stage job fairs in India as well as offering German classes for those intending to relocate. The Federal Labor Office has also said that it will get more pro-active in advising Indian college students already in Germany. This strategy aligns with the Cabinet's approach as well as with the Foreign Office's so-called "Focus on India."

Labor minister calls Indian migration 'a success story'

"The influx of skilled Indian workers is already a success story for our country," said Labor Minister Heil, noting that the steps outlined in the government's skilled labor strategy will lay the groundwork to further that success.

According to Federal Labor Ministry statistics, some 137,000 Indians were employed in skilled-labor positions in February 2024, that is roughly 23,000 more than the year prior.

In 2015, the number of Indians in such jobs was about 23,000 in total.

Current statistics also show that joblessness among Indians living in Germany is only 3.7%, well below the overall unemployment rate of 7.1%.

js/nm (AFP, dpa, Reuters)