Immigration of Professionals from India; A Success Story for Germany

Did you know that Germany currently faces a worker shortage, particularly in the STEM fields threatening its renowned engineering brand position in the World?

According to a 2022 report by the German Economic Institute, there was already a deficit of about 320,000 STEM specialists. This shortage is exacerbated by the simultaneous retirement of engineers and technical specialists and an impending departure of baby boomers from the labour market. A recent study also shows at least a 6% decrease in STEM university enrolments just within a year. All this compounded by the increasing demand of workforce for Germany’s digital and green transformation is forcing the country to look for skilled workers from abroad to stabilize its economy.

Over the last few years there has been a steady increase in Indians immigrating to Germany. The Indian population rose from 48,000 to 247,000 between 2010 and 2022. Its contribution to the total foreign population grew from 0.7% to 1.6%. This surge is noteworthy also in the number of Indians pursuing university studies in Germany which clearly indicates a shift from the primary reason of immigration for employment to also education. Data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany reveals a 26 per cent increase in the Indian students in Germany just over the past year, reaching 42,997 for the winter semester of 2022-23. Indians constitute the predominant cohort of international students at German universities with engineering being the most favoured discipline at 60 per cent followed by law, management and social studies at 22 per cent.  Choice for Mathematics and natural sciences is at 14 per cent and rated as one of the sought-after fields of study.

It can be noted that Immigration from India is emerging as a new success story to the depleting German  workforce, with 57.6% of Indians in Germany working in specialist or expert roles requiring advanced qualifications. The relevance of immigration particularly from India is evident in the scientific-technical field. A study by the German Economic Institute reveals that recently immigrated Indians are often engaged in well-endowed technical professions and earn on an average €5,227 in full-time jobs subject to social insurance. This is significantly higher than the median wage of a full-time employee with a German passport thereby making Indians in Germany top the list of earning highest wages among all foreigners and among the highest contributors to the German social security and pension funds.

To further improve this healthy migration the German-Indian Migration and Mobility Agreement was signed on December 5, 2022 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Baerbock during her visit to India. This is the first agreement concluded with a country of origin in the area of migration and aims to promote the mobility of professionals, students, and trainees.

The above consolidated data  emphasises the positive impact Indian immigration is making on the German economy and how it is addressing the widening gap in the workforce in the crucial industrial and technological sectors of Germany.

REFERENCES:

1. Immigration from India, A great success for Germany
2. Indians Are Among The Top Earners In Germany
3. Qualified immigration from India showing signs of success
4. Shortage of engineers, scientists threatens German industry
5. Germany to woo Indian students to tackle labour market shortages
6. Germany and India sign migration agreement

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