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Following the revised EU Professional Qualifications Directive of 2013, the federal government made the application procedures for the assessment of foreign professional qualifications even simpler.
The majority of recognition notifications are granted to applicants trained in Syria. Doctor is the most common profession among Syrian applicants. Further recognition notifications are issued for office clerks, dentists, pharmacists, general care nurses and IT specialists. In this section you can find the detailed statistics also for Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Iran and Serbia.
The most applications for recognition processed in 2018 were filed by the Syrians. The majority of recognition notifications were issued for doctors. A much lower number of recognition notifications concerned dentists, pharmacists, general nurses and office clerks. For most professions, the number of applications is between 30 and 70.
From 1 July onwards, skilled workers from non-EU countries will find it easier to relocate to Germany. On that date, the new Employment Act will come into effect, which is aimed at counteracting the current shortage of skilled workers and enhancing Germany’s position in the worldwide competition for qualified professionals. Not an easy task, as other large Western economies and newly industrialised countries are also adapting their immigration policies.
The majority of applications for recognition are filed by foreign general care nurses. Further professions we selected for a detailed overview are doctors, office clerks, electronics technicians and motor vehicle mechatronics technicians. The range of countries of origin is enormous. Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked first with 2.004 applications processed.
The success rate differs depending on the country, in which the applicants were trained. Recognition rates tend to be higher in the geographically and culturally closer countries than in the more remote countries.
The United Kingdom leaves the European Union at the end of October - possibly without an agreement. What does a No-Deal-Brexit mean for the recognition of foreign qualifications?
The German companies benefit from increase in recognition of foreign professional qualifications. The Federal Statistical Office reports a 20% increase over the previous year. This is a particularly important signal in times of skills shortages.
Three skilled workers originating from Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, and Poland are working at Horst Busch Elektro-Technik GmbH in Hamburg. The company specifically recruits skilled workers who have obtained their professional qualifications abroad. Contrary to all fears surrounding the assessment of skills or possible cultural misunderstandings, the company has had very good experiences with this recruitment strategy. Horst Busch Elektro-Technik GmbH does not only facilitate the professional recognition of employees who hold foreign qualifications – it also covers the associated costs of the recognition process. This Hamburg-based electrical company is feeling confident: given the shortage of qualified personnel in this field, this investment will pay off in no time.
German Bundestag passed the Integration Act on July 7. The guiding principle on which the new legislation is based is that of “support and challenge”. Refugees who have good prospects of being allowed to stay permanently will be eligible to take integration courses and to take advantage of job and training opportunities sooner than before. But they will also be required to work on their own integration. Those asylum seekers who refuse to take an integration course or who do not meet their duties to cooperate will have their benefits curtailed.