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Germany should step up its efforts to encourage more foreign students to study in Germany to help the Country to deal with rising skills shortages, says the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Germany's economy is growing again after the global financial crisis of 2007. German companies are now looking to recruit more skilled labour. The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce estimates that Germany requires at least an additional 400,000 skilled workers.
Immigration is vital to achieving these numbers, according to Anton Börner, President of the German Foreign Trade Association. Some members of the German government agree: Economics Minister Rainer Brüderle wants a new immigration system put in place which will allow in more skilled workers from abroad.
DAAD feels that foreign students can help to achieve these aims. In 2009, one in three foreign graduates of German educational institutions took advantage of 2005 immigration legislation which allows non-EU graduates of German universities to stay on in Germany and work in skilled professions.
"Recruiting foreign students appears to be the ideal way to boost Germany's skilled labour force," said DAAD President Sabine Kunst.
"So, from the DAAD perspective, the priority must be to significantly increase the number of students from abroad, from a present 240,000 to 300,000 in 2020," she added.
