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The 20,000th recognition notification of the IHK FOSA went to Mariana Raposo dos Santos in Karlsruhe. This confirmed the full equivalence of the chemical laboratory assistant's training completed in Portugal with the German qualification. The recognition notification makes her professional qualification as a skilled worker transparent and thus contributes to her integration into the German labour market.

A delegation with representatives of the Swedish Council for Higher Education visited the BQ-Portal on 1 February in order to get acquainted with the professional recognition in Germany. Since 2017 it is possible in Sweden to have your foreign professional credentials recognized. In Germany this legal right was introduced already in 2012. The Swedish Council for Higher Education is responsible for carrying out recognition procedures in Sweden and already uses the information available in the BQ-Portal in daily work. At the meeting, the Swedish guests learned how to find the information in the BQ-Portal, and found out, how the BQ-Team carries out research on foreign VET systems and professional profiles.

The 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report by UNESCO congratulates Germany for its policies in recognizing migrants and refugees’ prior qualifications and skills. The recognition of foreign professional qualifications increases the probability of immigrant employment by 45 percentage points and the hourly wage by 40%. A million migrants a year visit the website ‘Recognition in Germany’, which offers advice on the recognition procedure in 9 languages. The information on foreign vocational training systems and professional qualifications in the BQ-Portal is accessed annually by over 180,000 website visitors, primarily assessment authorities, companies and experts.

In most OECD European countries and in the United States, labour migration in 2022 was at a 15 year record level. Year-on-year increases in the primary destination countries were striking: the number of new permanent-type labour migrants increased by 59% in Germany.

www.make-it-in-germany.com is the German government’s portal for qualified professionals from around the world. The portal, which can be browsed in a variety of different languages, offers information for those interested in moving to Germany – starting with preparations in the home country, to the actual move, to the first steps to be taken in Germany.

The second report on the Recognition Act adopted by the Federal Cabinet this week gives a positive assessment of the act. The experience of three years since its enactment shows that the Recognition Act contributes considerably to increasing attractiveness of Germany for a foreign skilled workforce.

Compared to 2008, the number of EU foreigners in Germany has doubled. Most immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe. The immigrants represent a great potential for the German economy. The BQ-Portal offers comprehensive information on foreign vocational qualifications and thus creates greater acceptance for foreign credentials.

As of January 18, 2016, the Recognition Act was revised: from now on, the citizens of the European Union or European Economic Area can submit their application and all relevant documents online. Furthermore, their applications will be processed by a single contact point. This application procedure will apply, at first, only to the regulated professions in the federal responsibility.

In Germany thanks to the three central information portals for recognition of foreign professional qualifications, “BQ-Portal”, “Recognition in Germany” and “anabin”, there is a wide range of information on the recognition process. From now on, the new project “ProRecognition” aims to offer also in other countries comprehensive information on the possibilities of having foreign qualifications recognised in Germany.

The Federal Statistical Office has published the recognition figures for 2022. In 2022, for the first time since Corona, the Federal Statistical Office recorded significantly more recognitions. 52,300 people received their recognition notification in this country. This is an increase of 11% compared to 2021. The number of new applications also rose sharply, by 13% compared to the previous year. This development is enormously important for Germany: Most companies face immense skills shortages.