The federal government is concerned with the shortage of skilled workers. A new immigration law is intended to remedy the situation and bring foreign workers into the country. The FDP also wants to remove another bureaucratic hurdle and make German authorities bilingual.
According to a newspaper report, the FDP is calling for the introduction of English as an additional administrative language in German authorities. This should make it easier for migrants to go to the authorities, according to a ten-point paper by the Liberals on immigration policy, which the "Handelsblatt" reports on.
"Language is the key to successful integration," says the paper in the paper drawn up by Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and party Vice-President Johannes Vogel. It is to be adopted by the party presidency today. The Liberals want to push ahead with the traffic light coalition's plans for a reform of immigration law - also to counteract the shortage of skilled workers.
"The current chaos at the airports due to the labor shortage is only the harbinger," Vogel told the "Handelsblatt". The rules on immigration should be "more attractive". In addition to English as an additional language in offices, according to the "Handelsblatt" the paper calls for the further expansion of German language support for specialists and their families. The FDP cites the removal of hurdles in the recognition of foreign educational and professional qualifications as a "special priority".
The Free Democrats are also demanding that the so-called Blue Card in national law be extended to non-academic professions. The Blue Card is a residence permit with a work permit for skilled workers from outside the EU, but so far the Blue Card has mainly been aimed at university graduates.
There is a lack of specialized workers in almost every industry. Germany's handicraft businesses alone are looking for a six-digit number of employees. Since not all companies report vacancies to the agencies, the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts assumes that there is an estimated 250,000 shortages of craftsmen and women.
A new immigration law is intended to counteract the shortage of skilled workers from autumn. According to the special regulation for airport staff, the federal government is also planning a simplified immigration of workers from abroad for the hospitality industry.
