GFT CEO Ulrich Dietz appeals for new approach to solve Germany’s shortage of skilled labour 

Stuttgart, 18 May 2011 – Opening the labour market up to eight Eastern European nations will not provide Germany’s economy with the skilled staff it so badly needs. This is the sobering conclusion of many experts who do not believe the free movement of labour is the solution to the country’s increasingly acute shortage of skilled personnel. “Although targeted immigration is just as important as carefully coordinated measures within the German labour market, neither will be able to meet the demand for specialists in the coming years. Flexible work models are the solution here,” states Ulrich Dietz, CEO of GFT Technologies AG, and calls for the increased use of international freelance specialists. “On the global market, there is an increasing number of IT specialists and engineers who are keen to work abroad. We must aim to recruit these highly skilled and flexible experts for Germany.”

As well as their high degree of flexibility, says Dietz, it is the experience, language skills and sector know-how of these foreign experts which make them ideal candidates for vacancies in German industry and finance. Many freelance IT specialists boast several years of professional experience and use the phases between contracts to hone their skills with further training. The benefit: they have profound knowledge of the latest technologies and are ready to assume new tasks at short notice. “Such temporary workers are often the ideal choice for companies. In sectors where projects are increasingly organized across departmental and national boundaries, such internationally experienced specialists offer exactly those skills which are needed for the specific task,” explains Dietz.

With its global network of experts, GFT has long been placing IT specialists and engineers from around the world with German and international companies for work on technology projects. The specialists also receive full personal support during the entire project – from meeting administrative regulations to practical help in finding accommodation. GFT’s International Resourcing Center in Berlin can draw on an extensive database of over 180,000 experts. “Germany is currently the engine driving European growth and is a particularly popular destination. We should now leverage this appeal to attract highly skilled specialists from abroad,” states Dietz and calls for intelligent visa models which would quickly and easily enable foreign specialists to work as freelancers in Germany. “This is the only way we can give companies the staff flexibility they need and meet the rising demand for specialists.”

According to Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, the country will lack some 6.5 million skilled workers by 2025. There are plans to meet some of this demand by raising the number of skilled employees within Germany with a variety of measures. However, around two million additional specialists would need to be recruited from abroad. The Federal Employment Agency reckons that the opening of Germany’s labour market for eight Eastern European states as of 1 Mai 2011 will result in around 140,000 immigrants per year from these nations.

“European immigration is an opportunity for Germany, but is not sufficient by itself. We need an additional international approach for freelancers,” demands Ulrich Dietz. “Organisational structures and work models are currently in a state of flux; companies and nations must adapt to this fact. Germany cannot afford to ignore the potential offered by the rising number of specialists around the world. Every freelance specialist can contribute a significant amount of know-how, internationality and above all initiative and self-motivation – qualities which might help secure our future growth.”