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DW (English)
  • 8/11/2023
Germany lacks skilled workers. Experts say that 1.5 million immigrants are needed each year to maintain the labor force. But what has to change to make migrants want to come to Germany?
Transcript
00:00 How much immigration does Germany need?
00:04 In 2020, 281 million people worldwide no longer lived in the country of their birth.
00:11 That's three times as many as in 1970.
00:15 According to statistics, the most popular destination for migrants is the US,
00:20 followed by Germany and Saudi Arabia.
00:23 Although Germany has been recruiting foreign workers since the 1960s,
00:29 it long did not see itself as a country of immigration,
00:33 like Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the US or Canada.
00:38 Guest workers from Italy, Turkey and Portugal worked in Germany to help it achieve economic recovery.
00:47 Later they were supposed to leave, but they didn't.
00:51 Today, many economists in Germany are calling for regular immigration,
00:56 because of demographic change.
00:58 Too many people are retiring, while too few young people are entering the job market.
01:03 There's a shortage of skilled workers everywhere.
01:07 According to economist Monika Schnitzler, Germany needs 1.5 million immigrants every year.
01:14 After deducting those who leave, 400,000 additional people would remain each year.
01:20 That would be enough to keep the German workforce going,
01:25 but immigrants still often face hurdles and a lack of acceptance.
01:30 Canada has long shown how things can be done better.
01:36 There, new citizens are invited to an official naturalization ceremony.
01:41 But before that, the migrants have to qualify in a points system,
01:45 which evaluates education, skills, language ability and work experience.
01:51 With the Skilled Immigration Act, the German government wants to encourage the immigration of skilled workers from non-EU countries.
01:59 But it takes more than a law to bring immigrants to a country.
02:03 Migrants must feel accepted if they are to stay.
02:06 (upbeat music)

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