A bridge to employment for foreign skilled workers
Johanna Wanka: “Recognition of qualifications helps with integration into the labour market”
The Federal Government formally adopted the 2016 Report on the Recognition Act. Since the introduction of a legal right to a recognition procedure four years ago, the number of applications has grown significantly. Between 2012 and 2014, more than 44,000 applications for professional recognition were submitted in occupations governed by federal law alone. Just over 17,600 of these applications were made in 2014. The report shows that 96 percent of procedures conclude by awarding full or partial recognition. The Federal Statistical Office will present the new figures for 2015 in the autumn.
“Our experiences with the recognition of foreign professional and vocational qualifications have been very good,” said Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister of Education and Research. “The Recognition Act is working. For persons with a foreign qualification, professional or vocational recognition represents a bridge to employment in line with their qualification. This helps with labour market integration.”
In its report “Making Integration Work”, the OECD also takes a positive view of the newly created legal framework for recognition in Germany as an instrument for the acquisition of skilled workers. “I expect interest to continue to rise, including as a result of the influx of refugees,” said Mrs. Wanka. We need to make sure that people actually avail themselves of their right to a recognition procedure. The costs of recognition must not be permitted to form a hurdle in this regard.” For this reason, the Federal Ministry of Education is planning to instigate a new funding programme to support low earners, in particular with aspects such as financing recognition fees or translation costs.
Another important result of the report is that foundations have been laid for standardised administrative implementation in the healthcare professions. The federal states have set up central as-sessment body for this purpose at the Central Office for Foreign Education.