New opportunities for Indian skilled workers

They are young, well qualified - and highly sought-after in Germany’s IT sector in particular: skilled workers from India. Many of them could well imagine working in Germany – but getting a visa tended to be a laborious and lengthy undertaking in the past. 

A strategic partnership on a new level

The German government now wants to change this and make it easier for Indian skilled workers to access the German employment market. In October 2024, the Federal Cabinet - that is to say Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his 16 federal ministers - adopted an India Skilled Labour Strategy and a brochure entitled Focus on India. More than 30 measures, aimed above all at reducing bureaucratic hurdles with respect for example to the granting of visas, are to make it easier for Indians to come to Germany - for instance by fully digitising the visa application process by the end of 2024. German courses and job fairs in India will prepare Indians for life in Germany: in addition, the Federal Employment Agency plans to provide targeted advice to Indian students already in Germany.

India’s significance for Germany

The brochure published by the Federal Foreign Office highlights India’s significance for Germany and describes the shaping of bilateral relations with India. It places emphasis on cooperation in the areas of foreign and security policy, development cooperation policy, climate and environmental policy, expansion of business and trade relations, intensification of research and academic cooperation and skilled worker recruitment. The brochure also stresses the importance of exchange on basic rights and fundamental freedoms, such as within the framework of the EU-India Human Rights Dialogue.

The Indo-German Intergovernmental Consultations will also discuss how to implement these measures. A Strategic Partnership has been in place between Germany and India since the year 2000 – the German government now wants to raise this to a new level and bring about greater awareness of India. 

India - an important partner and future-oriented country 

India is a future-oriented country. It is not only the world’s most populous country - having overtaken China in 2023 - but also the fastest-growing national economy in the G20. As the world’s fifth-largest economy, India plays a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals laid down in the 2030 Agenda of global efforts to mitigate climate change and protect biodiversity. There is another reason why India is a “key partner” for Germany in the Indo-Pacific, however: it is a stable and reliable partner for Germany in a region that is increasingly characterised by tensions and in which the principles enshrined in the UN Charta have come under pressure. 

India also plays a vital role for Germany because it produces so many well trained skilled workers. While demographic shifts in Germany are leading to a considerable shortage of well qualified experts in medicine, engineering, electrotechnology and IT, as well as in nursing care and the skilled trades, the Indian population is young and well trained - and with 1.45 billion inhabitants and years of high birth rates the employment market is hardly able to absorb all the many job seekers. Simplified visa procedures and targeted recruitment could thus prove a win-win for both countries and address the skilled labour shortage in Germany, which is threatening to put the brakes on growth and progress.

In February 2024, 137,000 Indians were employed in jobs subject to social insurance contributions in Germany, according to Labour Ministry statistics. Young people from India are often well trained and have a university degree: 16 percent of them work in specialist positions in Germany, while 37 percent work at expert level. They are primarily employed in the services sector, especially in information and communication.

Joint efforts in development, climate change mitigation and environmental protection

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, accompanied by a business delegation that will include Vice Chancellor and Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Labour Minister Hubertus Heil, is travelling to India to take part in intergovernmental consultations at the end of October. Scholz will also visit the German frigate Baden-Württemberg and the combat support ship Frankfurt am Main, which are in India for the Indo-Pacific Deployment project as part of the Bundeswehr’s defence diplomacy. India is also an increasingly important partner for Germany in military terms.

The German Economics Ministry and German business representatives will be hosting an Asia-Pacific Conference in the Indian capital New Delhi. The region is the most important trade partner outside Europe for German companies, according to the ministry.