DAAD welcomes position paper concerning immigration of skilled workers

New legislative initiative

International exchange students are playing an increasingly big role when it comes to recruiting qualified employees in Germany. This is why the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) welcomes the position paper concerning the new Skilled Immigration Act , which the Federal Government passed today.

Flaggen vor dem DAAD-Hauptgebäude in Bonn

“It is welcome news and the right step that policy-makers are focusing more strongly on the great potential of international exchange students and graduates of German higher education institutions as skilled workers of the future. The vast majority of these young people are highly qualified, familiar with the German culture and have acquired language skills. Almost half of them are studying a discipline from the STEM field that is in very high demand, and surveys have shown that many of them would like to live and work in Germany after graduating. We as a society should make far better use of these opportunities. The new paper published by the Federal Government points out the right levers in this respect,” said DAAD President Prof Dr Joybrato Mukherjee.

In the position paper, the Federal Government sets out its goal to attract more students from third countries for studies in Germany, to optimally prepare them both linguistically and in their specialist field, to make immigration easier, to ensure their academic success and to assist them in entering the German labour market. “We as the DAAD welcome and support this holistic approach,” Mukherjee added. 

DAAD programmes promote immigration of qualified workers

The DAAD programmes are already playing an important role with regard to many of the processes mentioned in the position paper: the DAAD provides people who are interested in higher education with information and advice about Germany as a study and research location, offers targeted support to excellent foreign students through scholarships, promotes digital higher education preparation and offers support for ensuring the students’ academic success and language acquisition in Germany and abroad.

In addition, services were added in recent years for preparing interested refugees for higher education and providing study guidance and help for entering the labour market to international exchange students and graduates. “Germany is facing a steadily increasing demand for qualified academics. We therefore believe that it is vital to expand the existing programmes at the higher education institutions and to increase their impact,” Joybrato Mukherjee said.  

International exchange students account for one quarter of skilled immigration

There is great potential: international graduates of German higher education institutions account for one quarter of skilled immigration even now, according to a current OECDE survey. “In order to keep the most brilliant minds in Germany, we need to improve the general conditions for recruitment and higher education preparation and offer more services to help international exchange students enter the German labour market,” the DAAD President pointed out. “The DAAD is willing to support the Federal Government in intensifying its activities in this field.” 

DAAD - Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst - German Academic Exchange Service