Germany Looks At Indian Students To Fill Labour Shortage

A major issue that Germany is dealing with is a labour shortage. These shortages may cause its industry to slow. However, there may soon be an answer in the form of Indian students. 

India become a major source for Germany

According to the German media outlet Deutsche Welle (DW), with around 43,000 Indian students studying at German universities, India has become a major source of talent for Germany. In fact, the number of Indian students in Germany went up by 26% for the winter semester of 2022-23.

Germany's economy has been growing steadily for 20 years, but now it's starting to struggle because there aren't enough people to fill the jobs. There are about 700,000 job openings in different sectors of the economy. If this problem isn't fixed, Germany's economic growth could drop to just 0.5%.

As Germany's population gets older, it's estimated that the country will need seven million skilled workers by 2035. To tackle this challenge, Germany has made a big move: it doubled the amount of time international students can work, from 10 hours to 20 hours a week, with a new law called the Skilled Immigration Act.

"By giving international students more opportunities to work, Germany hopes to not only attract skilled individuals but also build a pool of talent for the future," explained Enzo Weber, an employment expert at the University of Regensburg, told German media outlet Deutsche Welle (DW).

Germany job market for Indian student

Germany's Academic Exchange Service president, Joybrato Mukherjee, emphasised the importance of making the German job market attractive for Indian students after they finish their studies. About 60% of Indian students in Germany are studying engineering, which is a perfect fit for Germany's needs.

"Indian students studying IT and engineering are crucial for filling the gaps in Germany's workforce," Michael Flacke, spokesperson for the German Academic Exchange Service, told DW.