The VDMA, Europes largest and most important mechanical engineering industry association, is calling on politicians to also allow recruitment agencies to bring foreign skilled workers to Germany. Every possibility must now be seriously considered to get the skilled labor problem under control.

Frankfurt, 26/07/2022 – The VDMA is lobbying for German companies to be allowed to enlist the help of professional recruiters when recruiting qualified workers from abroad. “In any case, many of our companies feel overwhelmed by the need to actively search the world for technicians willing to emigrate who would be suitable for work in Germany,” writes VDMA President Karl Haeusgen in letters to Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser and Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil. “This is where professional recruiters can provide valuable, if not crucial, assistance.”

Many of our companies feel overwhelmed to actively search the world for technicians willing to emigrate who are eligible to work in Germany.

Karl Haeusgen, VDMA President

The two federal ministers recently announced in a joint newspaper article that they would reduce the legal hurdles for skilled workers willing to immigrate. In particular, there are to be facilitations in the recognition of foreign educational and professional qualifications. The VDMA supports this explicitly, but is also calling for those foreign skilled workers who want to come to Germany via a recruitment agency to be allowed to stay. “Presumably we agree in our assessment,” Haeusgen goes on to write to the ministers, “that the demand for skilled workers in Germany has now reached such a level that every possibility must be seriously considered in order to get the problemsolved.” In the VDMA’s view, this also includes creating the legal conditions in the Residence Act so that recruiters can attract qualified workers from third countries to the German labor market.

Shortage of skilled workers in mechanical engineering grows worse

The latest figures from the Ifo Institute clearly show how serious the personnel situation already is in mechanical engineering companies. According to Ifo, in July 43 percent of companies in the mechanical engineering sector reported that production was hampered by a shortage of skilled workers. This again exceeded the April figure of 39 percent, which was already the highest figure in the time series in unified Germany since 1991.