On 1 April 2013, the Federal Government Recognition Act has been in force for a year. Against the background of the objectives of the Act and the experiences gained from the implementation and application of the new law, the specialist ministry responsible believes that the initial conclusions which can be drawn are positive.
One of the central objectives of the Recognition Act is to provide better opportunities for those with foreign professional and vocational qualifications to work within their chosen occupation regardless of whether such persons are already living in the country or are new migrants. The law has shown itself to be an important building block within the skilled worker strategy of the Federal Government in this respect.
The experiences gained during the first year indicate that it has been possible to activate domestic areas of skills potential and make Germany more attractive to the skilled workers it so urgently needs. The paradigm shift towards the potential displayed by migrants and away from the usual deficit-oriented perspective so frequently adopted, something which the law intended to create, has also played a part. The question of whether foreign qualifications are held has now taken on an even more important role in the advisory services provided by the Employment Agencies, the Integration through Qualification (IQ) Project Information and Counselling Centres and the chambers.
The Recognition Act has in particular brought about a change in structures in the areas for which the chambers are responsible. Within a period of only a few months, effective administrative procedures and expertise have been established for the application of the new equivalence assessment process in accordance with the Vocational Qualifications Assessment Law. Areas of responsibility and know-how have been bundled. This means that occupations regulated by the Chambers of Industry and Commerce fall within the remit of the Foreign Skills Approval Competence Centre of the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK FOSA), whereas craft trades are handled by the umbrella Chambers of Crafts and Trades and skilled medical staff are processed by the Medical and Dental Council in Westfalen-Lippe.
Main objectives
One of the main objectives of the Recognition Act was and is to initiate processes within the federal states for legislation and unification of administrative enactment. Specific outcomes such as a Model Law for the federal states which is aligned to the Federal Government Act have enabled this goal to be pursued. In five federal states, the Recognition Act has already been supplemented by the enactment of separate recognition laws governing occupations for which the federal states themselves are responsible.
Notwithstanding this, it has become apparent that procedures are not bringing about significant improvements for all occupations. To this extent, endeavours should continue to achieve the greatest possible standardisation of procedures both in the areas of chamber responsibility and within the federal state government authorities.
A further important goal in terms of establishing greater legal equality has in particular been fulfilled in the training occupations of the dual system. The new procedures pursuant to the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Professional Qualifications Act (BQFG) mean that a notice of equivalence brings the same legal consequences as a German qualifications certificate. This means, for example, that holders of such a notice of equivalence can obtain access to advanced training courses leading to a master craftsman qualification and may also be admitted to a course of higher education study even if they are not in possession of a school-based higher education entrance qualification.
As the evaluation issued by the Federal Executive of the of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) underlines, the benefits provided by notices of equivalence now need to be more firmly embraced by firms and companies in order to bring about an actual improvement in opportunities on the labour market.
The effects of the Recognition Act will also shortly make themselves felt in the field of immigration law. It is the intention of the Federal Government to reform the Employment Regulations in order to open up immigration opportunities for skilled workers from third countries with vocational qualifications (i.e. without a higher education degree) which have been recognised as equivalent pursuant to federal or federal state recognition laws. This will enable employment law that applies to foreigners to be more closely adapted to the objectives of the Recognition Act.
Considerable level of interest
There is a considerable level of interest in the new procedures. Even though representative data regarding the enactment of the law will not be available until the Official Federal Statistics are published at the end of 2013, initial information on the volume of applications received and number of procedures completed is already available.
Most applications submitted are in regulated occupations (e.g. doctors) due to the fact that recognition of foreign professional qualifications is a prerequisite for being able to practise in Germany. The federal state authorities, which are responsible for implementing the federal regulations in these occupations, expect that the figures for 2012 will show that they dealt with over 20,000 applications in healthcare occupations alone.
Between April 2012 and the end of February 2013, for example, around 11,000 applications were submitted by doctors and nurses (8,490 and 2,620 respectively). Approximately 2,000 doctors from non-EU states (third countries) have already been issued with a medical practice licence either without or following successful completion of a compensatory measure. Only 12 applications were rejected. In the case of nurses with third-country qualifications, around 300 recognitions have been issued either directly or following successful completion of a compensatory measure, and only 42 applications have been refused.
The high degree of interest in regulated occupations is confirmed by the user data from information and advisory provision made available by the Federal Government. Regulated occupations such as doctor, teacher, engineer and nurse are by far the most frequent object of enquiries made to the Recognition Portal (www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de), to the advisory service offered as part of the IQ funding programme and to the central telephone hotline. More than 250,000 persons have sought information on opportunities for professional and vocational recognition from the Recognition Portal alone, around 40 percent being from abroad.
Interest is, however, also high in the non-regulated occupations. Since April 2012, around 3,900 applications have been received by the Chambers of Crafts and Trades, the Chambers of Industry and Commerce, the agricultural sector and the liberal professions. Approximately 1,500 assessment notices have been issued. The most popular objects of enquiry are the commercial, metalworking and electrical occupations. Applicants have completed their training in more than 90 countries all over the world, the most frequent countries of origin being Poland, Russia and Turkey.
One striking aspect in this regard is the high number of assessment notices, around two thirds, which certify full equivalence. As is emphasised by the employers, both notices of equivalence and certified partial equivalence increase the transparency of foreign qualifications. The differentiated presentation of existing skills and variations to the German qualification presented in the assessment notice are often sufficient to convince the employer of the value of the foreign qualification and also provide starting points for continuing training. This benefit of notices of partial equivalence now needs to be communicated to the companies in even stronger terms.
Need for further improvement
The positive experiences gained from the way in which the chambers have implemented the Act should not hide the fact that there is a particular need for further improvement in enactment by the federal states. The "Creation of standardised and unbureaucratic rules for the recognition procedure" adopted by the Prime Ministers of the federal states in October 2010 requires more precise specification. The aim here should also be greater bundling of competences and areas of responsibility. The request made by the Health Ministers' Conference for the establishment of cross-federal state evaluation body at the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) at the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) should be implemented quickly and the ZAB provided with the necessary financial and staff resources.
In addition, the federal states should in particular open up the recognition procedure for third-country qualifications in the occupations of teacher and engineer, professions which are in strong demand in Germany. This applies both in federal states where recognition laws are not yet in place and in federal states where such laws have already been enacted.
Although the interest in questions relating to evaluation of foreign qualifications is high, not every instance of advice leads to an application. Many can be helped by the advisory services provided by the Employment Agency, the IQ offices and the chambers, including additional measures such as retraining courses.
Nevertheless, there is a requirement for more information. In order to reach as many people with foreign qualifications in Germany as possible, the "Recognition in Germany" portal is marking the anniversary of the Recognition Act in April 2013 by launching a broadly-based information campaign. Targeted advertising measures in nine different languages will aim to attract more potential interested parties to the portal and raise awareness of the benefits of the law and of the service provided by the site.