Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil wants to boost the immigration of skilled workers from abroad with a so-called opportunity card. The traffic light coalition will present a modern immigration law in autumn, Heil announced in the “Bild am Sonntag” (BamS): “We are introducing an ‘opportunity card’ with a transparent points system so that people who our country needs can get to can come to us.” Because looking for a job in Germany is often difficult from abroad.
“We need more immigration,” emphasized the Minister of Labor and explained his plans: “Every year, depending on our needs, we set a quota for how many people can come to Germany with the ‘Chancenkarte’ to settle here for a certain period of time looking for a job or training. During this time, they must be able to secure their own livelihood.”
Anyone who can show a qualification recognized by Germany, regardless of whether it is an apprenticeship or a degree, immediately fulfills the condition for the “chance card”. “But we also want to give people who have other strengths and who we need on the job market a chance to come to Germany,” said the minister.
According to the BamS, interested parties should receive the “chance card” if they meet three of these four criteria: foreign qualification, at least three years of professional experience, language skills or a previous stay in Germany and age under 35 years. The exact design of the new regulation still has to be agreed in the government.
Heil also wants to counter the shortage of skilled workers with targeted training and further education for people already living in Germany and get more women into work. “We want to increase the proportion of women in employment, which at 72.1 percent is still around seven percentage points below that of men,” said the Labor Minister. “If we could halve that gap, we would have gained 900,000 workers.”
