The contrast is obvious: While companies in Germany are desperately searching for qualified employees, southern Europe is experiencing large-scale unemployment. As it turns out, immigrant workers from the countries hit hardest by the euro crisis encounter few problems in terms of skills needed on the job in Germany. Rather, they struggle first and foremost with learning the German language as quickly as possible. A new pilot project at the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Microelectronics (TZM) is helping foreign workers take language courses.
The number of immigrants from southern Europe entering Germany in the first half of 2012 grew by roughly 6.5% compared to the previous year, while the total employment rate only rose by 1.6%. “Word got out about the good employment situation here,” explains Dr. Beate Raabe from the German Federal Employment Agency’s Central Office for International and Specialist Recruitment (ZAV). “Since German is rarely taught as the first or second foreign language abroad, strong language skills become a very important requirement.”
Many of these migrants offer qualifications that are in scarce supply in Germany. Southern Germany and the North Rhine-Westphalia region, for example, both suffer from shortages in skilled engineers. And due to shifts in demographics, the gap experienced in certain fields and regions is only expected to widen in the future. “This deficit is precisely what needs to be anchored in the German psyche,” says Dr. Ina Kayser, career and labor market expert for the Association of German Engineers. “Our country is still very prejudiced in many respects. We have to make it clear that we need these people.” Many larger companies are apparently becoming very progressive and have, for example, arranged for mentors to accompany new workers during the early stages of their employment in order to ease everyday tasks in the new foreign country. But many SMEs might have difficulties being this accommodating. According to Dr. Kayser, the language is one of the major barriers to integration. “I often hear from immigrant engineers that their applications have been rejected because they can’t speak German. I think there’s a way to get past that in the beginning. Companies should start seeing an investment in language training as an investment in the future.”
This notion is central to a project at the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Microelectronics (TZM) in Göppingen. The specialist for engineering services for electronics, software, measurement and testing technology hires engineers with backgrounds in IT and electrical engineering, but the pool of applicants has almost dried up completely. So the TZM decided to start recruiting engineers from southern Europe. The center began its search for qualified employees from the region in the spring of 2012. “We tapped into skilled workers through job announcements and contacts with universities abroad,” explains Sandra Welter, director of Human Resources at TZM. She describes the results up to this point as very positive; applicants have almost always been highly qualified and completely motivated degree holders or engineers with work experience. Many had sought work in Spain, for example, only to be confronted by the dramatic reality of the situation: Their home country cannot offer them a future right now.
The majority of the new recruits, however, speak no German. Since they may be dealing with customers directly in the future, the TZM decided to help these new employees learn the language. In the fall of 2012, a pilot project was launched: A language instructor from the inlingua language school in Stuttgart was brought in every morning to teach the Spanish-speaking engineers German. Work-related tasks were dealt with during the afternoon. In addition, the company organized group daytrips and other activities to make the new employees feel more at home in Germany. The TZM’s conclusion: Taking risks in HR recruiting pays off. The center plans to continue recruiting beyond the borders of Germany in the future.