Shortage of skilled workers: Tunisian experts help Westerwald industry!

Shortage of skilled workers: Tunisian experts help Westerwald industry!

The shortage of skilled workers in Germany is an urgent issue that poses challenges for many companies. Andrea Kraut, managing director of “Motorhomes und Wunschmobile” in the Westerwald, experiences this first hand. She had considerable difficulty finding qualified employees in the region. She found the solution by recruiting skilled workers from abroad, inspired by a Tunisian supplier who made the first contact. Three Tunisian specialists are currently employed in Goddert to customize motorhomes according to customer requirements. Two of them previously worked as mechatronics engineers at Airbus in Tunisia, while the third holds a degree in mechanical engineering.

The incomes earned by Tunisian skilled workers in Germany are impressive compared to those in their homeland; They earn a good five to six times as much as in Tunisia. An advantage for this recruitment is that the employees had already learned German in their home country, which significantly reduced the communication barrier. Nevertheless, the bureaucracy represents a major hurdle. According to [zdfheute](https://www.zdfheute.de/politik/deutschland/fachkraefte Mangel-deutschland-fachkraefte-aus-dem-ausland-100.html), it took about a year before the first employee from Tunisia could enter Germany. The recognition of the qualifications of foreign skilled workers can also take months or years, which deters many companies, especially smaller companies.

Bureaucratic hurdles and successes

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) identifies the long bureaucratic process as the biggest hurdle for recruiting skilled workers from abroad. Andrea Kraut, however, would repeat the recruitment process from abroad because the experiences with the Tunisian employees are consistently positive and their work is considered to be of high quality. These successes could serve as a model for other companies that are also struggling with the skills shortage.

What is particularly noteworthy is that, according to Springer, the focus in the discussion about the shortage of skilled workers has shifted from a pure “shortage of skilled workers” to a “shortage of workers”. There are various strategies to close gaps in different industries. A European immigration system could help to provide (highly) qualified professionals with work and residence status if certain criteria are met. This would be an important step in getting to the root of the problem.

Future prospects and challenges

Another worrying finding is that around one in four immigrants is thinking about leaving Germany. This could pose a serious problem for the labor market in the medium term and jeopardize efforts to combat the skills shortage. Companies like “Motorhomes und Wunschmobile” therefore not only have to overcome bureaucratic hurdles, but also create customer-satisfactory working conditions in order to keep their new skilled workers in the country in the long term.