Lack of skilled workers in IT: Bureaucracy and a lack of regulation are slowing down digital Germany.

Lack of skilled workers in IT: Bureaucracy and a lack of regulation are slowing down digital Germany.

According to a report from www.welt.de, there is an alarming trend in the German IT industry: the shortage of IT specialists is increasing sharply, while the immigration of skilled workers is not progressing as hoped despite the liberalization of immigration law. According to a study by the digital association Bitkom, there are currently 149,000 unfilled positions for IT experts, and this shortage is expected to worsen due to demographic developments. The number of positions to be filled ranged between 43,000 and 55,000 between 2012 and 2017, but then rose sharply, to 82,000 in 2018 and to 124,000 a year later.
Although the number of new computer science students has fallen, graduation rates have increased. The IT industry is less international than expected, with a proportion of international employees of 11.5 percent. Recruiting IT specialists from abroad is problematic due to bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of information about the immigration process. Those wishing to immigrate often find it difficult to integrate into Germany - both bureaucratically, linguistically and culturally.
According to Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst, the German economy must become a more attractive immigration country and open up to migrant workers. However, there is a positive trend among Indian immigrants, around 56 percent of whom work in specialist or expert positions in Germany. Indians are particularly often employed in the IT industry.

This development has a significant impact on the German labor market and the financial sector. The increasing shortage of skilled workers in the IT industry can lead to increased competitive pressure as companies have difficulty filling their positions and innovative projects or products may therefore be delayed. In addition, companies could be forced to offer higher salaries and more attractive working conditions in order to attract qualified specialists, which in turn affects cost structures.
The difficulties in immigrating IT specialists from abroad could also mean that Germany falls behind in the global “war for talent” and that international specialists are more likely to choose other countries.
It is therefore important that politicians and companies take rapid and massive countermeasures to facilitate the integration and recruitment of IT specialists and to position Germany as an attractive immigration country. The efficiency and speed of the immigration process as well as the support for integration and family reunification are crucial factors in addressing the shortage of IT specialists and maintaining the competitiveness of the German economy.