New Delhi: Germany is facing an unusual paradox—a shortage of skilled workers despite rising unemployment and a slowing economy. To address this problem, it is looking beyond its borders, at countries including India.
For example, in the state of Tamil Nadu, prospective nurses are now also being trained in the German language with financial support from the state government, according to a report published in EuroAsia.News. After training, German hospitals and recruitment agencies are looking to hire these nurses in their country.
According to the EuroAsia.News report headlined ‘Germany’s Labour Paradox—370,000 Skilled Workers Missing’, India is one of the countries Germany is looking at to address its own shortage of skilled workers. According to a Deutsche Welle report, a clinic paid recruitment agencies between €7,000 and €12,000 for every nurse successfully recruited from India and Sri Lanka in Germany.
But why is Germany looking beyond its borders to recruit workers?
Germany faces a shortage of skilled workers despite rising unemployment and a slowing economy. One of the reasons for this is that even though many companies in the country have multiple vacancies which require skilled workers, Germany itself does not have enough skilled workers to fill these in.
A report by the German Economic Institute (IW), titled ‘2025 Year in Review: A Weak Labour Market – First Signs of Momentum from the Special Fund?’ reveals 369,516 skilled positions in Germany could not be filled because of a dearth of skilled workers last year.
The EuroAsia.News report also noted that in 2024, there 4.87 lakh skilled worker positions lying vacant in Germany in 2024, and these vacancies saw a 24.1 percent decline, largely because Germany’s economy slowed down and the need for workers became less pressing.
However, this did not end the problem. Last year, the EuroAsia.News report states, businesses had an average of around 1.11 million vacancies for qualified workers, while around 1.25 million unemployed jobseekers were registered.
Skilled worker shortage persists despite unemployment
In theory, Germany had more unemployed people than available job vacancies last year. There were approximately 11.1 lakh jobs which required qualified workers; at the same time the number of registered unemployed workers was 12.5 lakh.
The problem is that the unemployed people don’t also have the skills and the qualifications needed for these jobs. Also, they may be living far from where the workers are required.
According to Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, there were 157 types of jobs which faced a skilled workers shortage in 2025. This was lower than the 163 types in 2024 and 183 of 2023.
Germany has now actively also started to look for skilled workers from other countries apart from India, including in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Electricity infrastructure company Omexom Hochspannung, which employs around 500 people, is seeking workers from Vietnam for its power-line construction projects.
An ageing population
This shortage is expected to worsen with time as Germany’s population will also age. More than a fifth of the country’s employees are either 55 or older, meaning that they will retire over the next decade or so.
The Institute for Employment Research estimates that the country will need approximately 3 lakh skilled workers from foreign countries to maintain the workforce. Other projections range around 4 lakh.
Getting foreign skilled workers to Germany is only one part of the challenge, however. The language barrier, housing shortages as well as bureaucratic hurdles and discrimination make it difficult for some migrants in Germany.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
Also Read: Volkswagen is cutting jobs, closing factories. Why its old business model is breaking