The Federal Statistical Office published the statistics on the Recognition Act for the reference year 2016 this autumn. In 2016, 19.800 applications for recognition of foreign professional qualifications were processed. The share of those who received a positive ruling is very high. 30,2 percent of applicants have received the partial recognition or have to complete a formalized additional training in order to be able to work in their profession. In 66,4 percent of cases, full recognition was granted. The BQ-Portal took a closer look at this high success rate: The section Recognition Statistics 2016 provides an overview of the success rates of applications for professional recognition by professional groups, professions, regions and countries. The rate of full equivalence by individual occupation and country could be of particular interest.

On September 14, The Federal Statistical Office published the statistics on the Recognition Act for the reference year 2016. Since the Act came into effect in 2012, 86,514 applications for the recognition of foreign professional qualifications were filed, the Federal Statistical Office reports. In 2016, 23,028 new applications were submitted. This is a 14 percent increase over the previous year. The share of those who received a positive ruling is very high. The made up 76,5 percent of all applicants in 2016. In 66,4 percent of cases (19,845 cases), full recognition was granted and in 10,1 percent the partial one.  Only in 3,4 percent of cases, no equivalence could be established between a credential obtained abroad and a corresponding German qualification. Most applicants completed their training in Romania, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Syria. Applications for recognition of a Syrian vocational training almost tripled in a year (Syria, 2015: 636 new applications; 2016: 1728). Thus, Syria is on the 4th place among the most popular countries in the recognition process.

Since the Recognition Acts entered in force, the federal government and the federal states established an extensive range of information structures aimed to support their implementation. The three information portals for recognition of foreign professional qualifications, “BQ-Portal”, “Recognition in Germany” and “anabin”, are central in this context. Their close cooperation ensures high quality content and consistency. The portals have jointly created a new overview demonstrating which services for which target groups are available in the area of professional recognition.

The Company Award “We for Recognition” will be launched for the first time this year. The award ceremony will take place in Berlin on June 21, 2017 in the context of the conference “5 years with the Recognition Act – once learned, never forgotten”. Federal minister for Education and Research, Johanna Wanka, as well as Presidents of the German Federation of Chambers of Commerce (DIHK) and the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH), Eric Schwitzer and Hans Peter Wollenseifer will be present at the conference. Applications can be submitted online between March 1 and April 31, 2017 at www.annerkenungspreis.de.