Bridging the labour divide: Indian talent fuelling Germany's ambitions

A study published last month by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), a research institute of Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, show that the country will require around 1,57,000 additional workers by 2030 to enable its proposed energy transition. As Europe’s largest economy aims to become carbon neutral by 2045, the fall in the working-age population has become a bottleneck in many green sectors, such as renewable energy. 

Apart from decarbonisation and digitalisation, a host of other sectors in Germany, including healthcare, construction and services, also require a skilled workforce. 

With an ageing population and a shrinking workforce, Germany is grappling with one of its most acute labour shortages in several decades. 

A 2024 study commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation found that Germany will require around 2,88,000 international workers annually until 2040 to prevent the potential labour force from collapsing. Without considerable immigration, Germany’s workforce could shrink by 10% by 2040, the study said. 

To keep pace with its socio-economic and climate goals, Germany is framing policies and programmes to attract a skilled workforce from other countries. In this process, India has emerged as a vital partner, says a representative of iMOVE, Germany (International Marketing of Vocational Education), an initiative that facilitates cooperation between German training providers and their international partners, with a specific focus on vocational education. Their India office is located in Bengaluru.

The German training industry is rooted in the German dual VET (vocational education and training) system, which involves learning within the work process, the cooperation of government, the business community and social partners, and institutionalised research and advice. 

The iMOVE centre in India provides a range of services to support Indo-German cooperation in the area of initial and
continuing vocational education and training. These include advice on cooperation with the German education and training sector. 

India is a major contributor to Germany’s skilled labour pool and is helping to fill the gaps in the German workforce. According to German Labour Ministry statistics, around 1,37,000 skilled Indian professionals were working in Germany last year. A decade ago, the numbers stood at 23,000. As many as 16% of Indian youth work in specialist positions in Germany, while 37% work as experts. 

In an effort to attract more Indians, last year Germany decided to increase annual visas for skilled Indian workers from 20,000 to 90,000. 

Education: A pathway

Simultaneously, Indian students who study in German universities often seek to find employment and continue living in Germany after their studies. An upGrad report published recently shows that Germany has replaced the US as a top destination for Indian students studying abroad. The share of international students from India in Germany rose from 13% in 2022 to 32% in 2024. 

An Indian student in Germany says that a majority of his friends hope to continue working in the country after completing their course. What appeals to him the most is the unparalleled work-life balance. 

Opportunities

From renewable energy to digitisation, the IT and automobile industries, and more, the demand spans multiple industries. Green jobs, comprising the solar, wind and electric mobility sectors, are one of the key areas. There is a good scope for engineers, project managers and technicians in these sectors. Similarly, the country’s ambitious digital transformation plans are creating space for Indian IT specialists, particularly those with expertise in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.

Healthcare is another sector with soaring demand. Tailored migration programmes and fast-track qualification recognition processes have been designed to attract Indian professionals, nurses, caregivers and medical technicians to move, work and settle there. For instance, in December 2024, iMOVE signed an MoU with NSDC International, LMCare AG, and Aartees to enable the sourcing, training and placement of Indian healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, in Germany. 

Bilateral agreements, like the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement 2022, have made it easier for Indian professionals to get their qualifications recognised, secure visas and access training programmes.

While opportunities are vast, moving into Germany is not without challenges. “Paperwork can be daunting, and language and culture remain a significant barrier in both professional and personal lives. Those who are planning to move to Germany should aim to have at least B1-level German proficiency, without which integration into the society will become extremely difficult. Also, racism is not dead; it is still lurking in a dark corner of modern German history,” says K M Rakesh, a journalist based in Berlin. “While Germany is highly bureaucratic, where delays are common, the system always works,” he adds. 

While numbers indicate huge vacancies in various sectors, there have been heavy layoffs recently in both the tech and automobile sectors, which brings into question the nature of these jobs and the security they provide, says Rakesh. 

“On the positive side, whether you are a student or an expat, easy mobility is a key advantage that Germany provides. With the Schengen visa, one can travel to around two dozen countries,” he says. “Other pluses include healthcare access and affordability and good public transport. More than anything else, Germany is a democratic and secular country,” he adds. 

(The writer had visited Germany at the invitation of the Federal Foreign Office to study the immigration of skilled workers)