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Under the motto “Discover your talent”, the European Commission encourages stakeholders from all over Europe to organise events on a local, regional or national level.
The BQ-Portal, the portal “Recognition in Germany” and the database “anabin” are the three central information portals for recognition of foreign professional qualifications.
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.
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%.
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.
For the regulated professions, the rate of full recognition ranges from 35 to 75 percent, except for veterinarian and nursing professional which has a success rate of 90 percent and 86 percent, respectively. Furthermore, the highest rate of full equivalence was issued for the non-regulated occupation of cook, at 82 percent. This is immediately followed by the occupations of electrical systems technician, specialist for metal technology and industrial electrician with over 70 percent.
More than 70 percent of the recognition procedures for foreign professional qualifications obtained in EU member states end with a full equivalence. The positive recognition rate for the Netherlands is the highest as it reaches 94 percent. It is followed by Austria, Latvia, Hungary, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
Applicants from Portugal and Spain have the highest chances of positive ruling since their recognition rate stands at about 95% in Germany. The success rate of those from Czech Republic, Austria and Greece is over 90%. Those from Hungary and Slovakia received a positive ruling in over 85% of the cases.