Germany lacks skilled workers, so 1.5 million talents are to be recruited. A survey shows that many expatriates who are already here would rather leave again. What exactly is bothering her.
The quotes come from a South African, a Canadian and an Oman who took part in a survey of foreign professionals in Germany. A total of 979 people took part, including an equal number of women and men. On average, the respondents are 42 years old. Almost all of them have a university degree (87 percent) – not surprising, since the survey was conducted among members of InterNations, a network for academics who are expats living far from home.
InterNations has around 4.8 million members worldwide. Once a year, these members are asked to provide information about their life in the host country: How comfortable do they feel there? How easy or difficult was the search for an apartment? How difficult was it to organize a visa, internet connection or bank account? And how easy is it to make friends?
In 2022, Germany had performed the worst of the 52 countries surveyed in the categories of housing, digital infrastructure, language and administration. Nothing has changed in this respect in 2023: out of 53 countries, Germany again takes last place in these categories. In the overall ranking, only South Korea, Turkey, Norway and Kuwait did worse than Germany (49th place).
The living conditions of the local people play no role in the survey. Many states in which human rights count for little therefore perform surprisingly well.
The results of the survey, in which 12,065 people from 172 countries took part, are available to SPIEGEL in advance. And they impressively illustrate what Florian Diekmann wrote a few days ago in the SPIEGEL editorial: It is not enough to attract qualified workers or those willing to train into the country. We must also persuade them to stay here. That is the key challenge.
Economic expert Monika Schnitzler has calculated that Germany needs 1.5 million immigrants every year to maintain the number of workers. And the labor market researchers at the IAB calculated that the emigration rate of the foreign population would have to drop to 4.7 percent, otherwise it would be even more.
“It’s a bit like a leaky water hose, where you have to pump more and more water to keep the pressure up. Wouldn’t it be easier to finally plug the holes?’ wrote Diekmann in his editorial. »People who come to work here have to feel welcome and wanted. Not only in the office and at work, but in everyday life, on the street, in clubs, in the residential area. There is still a severe lack of that in some places.