Recognition law

One year after the law for recognising foreign occupational qualifications has come into effect, the industry drew a positive balance. The President of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Friedrich Hubert Esser, likewise spoke of an important contribution towards mitigating the threat of a skilled labour shortage in Germany.

According to data by the crafts associations, in the first year more than every second application (57 per cent) for recognition in Germany of foreign vocational education and training was met with approval. 33 per cent of applications were granted partial recognition, on the basis of which the applicants now can acquire subsequent qualifications.

Holger Schwannecke, Secretary General of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts and Small Business (ZDH), reported a total of 1,700 applications. The key fields covered were electrical engineering, hair dressing and automotive engineering. The applicants came from a range of 77 countries of origin, predominantly from Turkey and Poland.

The chambers of industry and commerce registered more than 2,300 applications. 613 of these were fully approved. 272 applications were granted partial recognition. The by far largest number of applicants came from Poland and Russia. The main focus here is on recognition of professional qualifications in the field of commerce and occupations in the metal-working industry.

According to data from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), some 360,000 people had used the "www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de" portal by mid-March.

The data states that 130,000 applications have been forwarded to the responsible bodies. 71 advisory centres within the nationwide sponsorship programme "Integration durch Qualifizierung" (IQ – Integration by Qualification) provided support on site.

According to the BIBB, the occupations most frequently accessed within the portal include academic medical professions, engineering and health care professions, teachers and pre-school teachers, social workers and office administrators. On average, 40 or more per cent of users access the portal from abroad. The largest numbers of people interested come from the European countries, in particular from Portugal, Spain, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands and from Italy.