The president of Germany’s Craft and Trade Association (ZDH) has urged Olaf Scholz’s government to de-bureaucritise the country’s immigration policy to help plug the worker shortage. In the last quarter of 2022, the number of vacant jobs in Germany was the highest ever recorded.

ZDH urge German government to de-bureaucratise immigration policy

On the Bundestag agenda this week: Germany’s skilled worker immigration policy. But before politicians could make it into the chamber to discuss the topic, the president of Germany’s Craft and Trade Association (ZDH) Jörg Dittrich, has urged the government to "de-bureaucratise and significantly accelerate administrative procedures" for migrant workers coming to Germany.

The country is in the throws of a worker shortage and exploring all avenues to remedy its scarcity. Plans to make it significantly easier for non-EU nationals to come and look for work in Germany, or apply for citizenship sooner than is currently possible, are underway.

However, speaking to Berliner Morgenpost, Dittrich expressed doubt that these reforms will make the administrative processes as easy as they need to be in order to keep up with the dire demand for new workers. “The best law is of no use without good enforcement,” said the association's president.

For Dittrich, only once the bureaucracy is simplified can new laws also meet the needs of small to mid-sized trade companies, “and only then will skilled workers appreciate Germany as an attractive immigration country".

Fourth quarter of 2022 saw largest German worker shortage ever

While politicians debate, the figures aren’t looking any brighter. In the last quarter of 2022, the number of vacant jobs in Germany was the highest ever, at 1,98 million.

The government’s recent report on the shortage concluded that “the demographic development, according to which the baby boomers from 1955 to 1970 are gradually retiring from working life, will further intensify this development”.

Currently, elderly care, childcare, IT and construction are the worst affected industries. As well as planning broader changes to immigration policy, the German government is targeting graduates from countries that it knows have a large number of people qualified in a specific industry, such as the plans to ease work visa routes for Indian jobseekers in IT.

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