Golden Opportunity for Yemeni Computer Scientists to Work in Germany [Archives:2000/15/Science & Technology]

Emergency program to satisfy personnel needs in Germany’s information technology sector
The information technology sector is a key industry in the 21st century. Every year around 600,000 jobs are created in the IT sector worldwide. There is a need to make use of this dynamic potential for Germany and to translate it into economic growth and serve more jobs.
The rapid rate of growth in all the major industrial nations has led to a considerable shortage of IT specialists. In the opinion economic experts there are currently about 75,000 jobs available in this sector in Germany which cannot be filled for lack of qualified personnel.
It continues to be our priority objective to satisfy personnel needs domestically. In July 1999 the Alliance for Jobs, Training, and Competitiveness decided to launch an offensive to reduce the shortage of qualified personnel in the information technology sector in cooperation with vocational training, higher education, and supplementary training institutions. The target was set to produce an additional 250,000 specialists for the information technology sector by the year 2005. Numerous training measures have been initiated, but they will show the desired effect only gradually and over the medium term.
In order to satisfy short-term personnel needs in the information technology sector it will be necessary for the government to open up new regulatory avenues. At the same time, it will be necessary for the industry to expand its training capacities and intensify supplementary training activities so as to be able to satisfy personnel needs in this sector over the medium term.
I. Easier access to jobs for top-level IT specialists from abroad
The acute shortage of information technology specialists in Germany must not be allowed to hinder growth of new jobs or to threaten existing jobs in this promising sector. In order to mobilize this employment potential, there is no alternative to taking short-term measures. The federal government, for its part, is creating an emergency program under which it will be possible to satisfy personnel needs in this sector by means of temporary employment of foreigners to the extent that the jobs in question cannot be filled by domestic specialists, including older persons. The employment of foreign specialists will be restricted to persons with university or polytechnic degrees in IT-related fields.
The German government will make it possible for up to 20,000 information technology specialists from abroad to take jobs in Germany. When 10,000 work permits have been issued, an assessment will be carried out to see whether further personnel is needed (monitoring activity). The federal government will make the necessary changes in legal regulations on residence and work permits for foreigners (limited to three years). Top-level foreign specialists will be able to work in Germany for a limited period of time, i.e. up to five years. Working and salary conditions for these foreign specialists must be the same as for domestic employees.

Under the current laws it is not impossible for foreign IT experts to gain access to the German employment market. Visa and work permit procedures are to be streamlined in advance in order to be able to act before the necessary legal changes go into effect. The federal government will approach the governments of the individual German states, asking them to accelerate resident permit procedures for information technology specialists.
The Federal Employment Agency will have sole responsibility for the placement of IT personnel from abroad. It will simplify procedures for this purpose. With the approval of the Federal Employment Agency companies are to be able to look for top-level specialists on their own. Everything possible will be done to make the procedures as unbureaucratic, rapid, and transparent as possible.
On the 2nd of March 2000 the Federal Employment Agency created an Internet hotline for the advertisement of jobs (under “Personalbedarf und Ausbildungsplatze” at www.arbeitsamt.de). The German government calls upon interested companies to post their job offers on the Internet under the heading “Aktion IT 2000” or to report them directly to the responsible employment offices. Contact persons at the employment offices will provide support to companies in solving their IT personnel problems. The Federal Employment Agency held a meeting of relevant experts on March 10, 2000 to specify the amount of personnel that will be needed and to exchange information on procedures.
Parallel to this limited opening of the employment market, there will be a need to intensify basic and supplementary training efforts considerably.
II. Training offensive by the information technology industry
With a view to improving growth and employment potentials, the industry agrees to carry out the following measures as its part of the emergency program:
By the year 2003 the industry will create at least another 20,000 training opportunities in addition to the 40,000 already promised in the framework of the Alliance for Jobs, i.e. a total of 60,000 training opportunities.
The industry agrees to increase in-house training considerably and verifiably with regard to Internet-relevant technologies. The industry will develop a plan for in-house supplementary training which will also include older employees.
The industry will take appropriate measures to stimulate the interest of young people in training and employment in the information technology sector. The percentage of women employed in this sector is to be increased considerably.
III. Supplementary training measures
The Federal Employment Agency will immediately increase the number of people for whom it is providing supplementary training in information technology areas from 36,000 to 40,000.
The Federal Employment Agency will focus its job placement and training activities on greatly reducing the number of unemployed information technology specialists (currently around 32,000); the number of unemployed engineers (currently around 60,000) is also to be drastically reduced.
Together with the governments of the individual German states the federal government will launch an offensive in the area of higher education with a view to increasing student enrollment and teaching capacities at universities and polytechnics, to internationalize degrees to a greater extent, and to advertise abroad more vigorously for Germany as an attractive place for foreign students to enroll. The objective is to double the number of university graduates in the information technology sector as quickly as possible. This offensive will include efforts to promote the interest of young people in studying and training for IT careers and to create relevant focuses in the training as well as supplementary training of secondary and vocational school teachers.
IV. Monitoring
The trends being created in the training and job situation will be regularly monitored in a cooperative effort by the federal government, the industry, the unions, the Federal Employment Agency, and the state governments. The information obtained as a result of these monitoring activities will determine the further course of action.
The German Embassy – Sanaa

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