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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.
With the help of adaptation qualification, the significant differences leading to only partial equivalence can be compensated in cases of non-regulated professions. This section shows the adaptation qualification in greater detail.
On April 16, 2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foreign Skills Approval (IHK FOSA) in Nuremberg. On her trip Federal Chancellor was accompanied by Johanna Wanka, the Federal Minister of Education and Research.
In March the DGB training institute conducted the first training course “In-company Professionals for Recognition”. Overall, twelve participants attended the one-week training. The majority of them were the works and staff councils from various industry sectors and companies of different size.
In this section you will find answers to frequently asked questions about professional recognition. The section is focused on the perspective of companies accompanying the recognition process.
In terms of individual professions, the recognition rate in Germany diverges widely. Almost 90% of applicants who wish to work as seller receive full equivalence. In most professions, the share of those granted full equivalence varies from 40% to 80%.
In terms of individual professions the recognition rate in Germany diverges widely. On the one hand, over 90% of master bricklayers and master concrete workers receive full equivalence. Only slightly below this figure is the success rate of applicants who wish to have their license to practice as a dentist or veterinarian recognized.
The Federal Statistical Office published the statistics on the Recognition Act this October. The number of new applications, filed for the recognition of professional qualifications obtained abroad, in 2015 was 19,389. This represents an increase of 10 percent compared to the previous year. Since the Act came into effect in 2012, more than 63,000 applications have already been submitted. The recognition process is becoming increasingly popular. This is a positive signal, especially for economy, because it implies that, more skilled international workers with recognized professional qualifications can strengthen local companies.
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.
The rate of full equivalencies varies by profession. For the regulated professions, the rate of full recognition ranges from 25 to 65 percent, with the exception of veterinarian which has a success rate of 80 percent. Furthermore, the highest rate of full equivalence was issued for the non-regulated occupation of cook, at 83 percent. This is immediately followed by the occupations of electrical systems technician, technician for metal technology and hairdresser with over 60 percent.