According to the Greens, more training, better childcare and new rules for work visas should help to end the labor shortage in many sectors. “In Germany there is a shortage of workers, economists estimate that by 2030 there will be a shortage of 4.2 billion working hours. We urgently need to do that,” said party leader Omid Nouripour of the German Press Agency.
In order to solve the problem, three things are particularly important: “We have to improve the compatibility of family and work, which has suffered massively in the corona pandemic. We also have to increase further education and training.” Chambers of crafts, for example, are now offering weekend seminars in which you can learn how to install a photovoltaic system on your own roof, because you can hardly find any craftsmen anymore.
The third important point was labor immigration. “It’s a fairy tale that the qualified specialists in the world are all just waiting to come to Germany,” said the co-chair of the Greens. “I think it is necessary that we establish a points system, where there are points depending on qualifications or language skills.”
Mechanisms should then be found to determine year after year how great the need is for the German labor market. This number could change over the years. Nouripour warned: “If we don’t make progress on the issue of labor shortages, productivity and value creation will be lost in this country.”
The introduction of a points system for workers who want to immigrate to Germany is one of the concerns that the FDP is also strongly committed to. However, the main responsibility here lies with the SPD-led Ministries of the Interior and Labour.
