The German government is tackling labor shortages by focusing on attracting Indian students, who constitute the largest group of international students in the country.
Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee of the German Academic Exchange Service stressed the need to make the German labor market appealing to Indian graduates.
With a record number of Indian students attending German universities, and Indians comprising the largest group of international students in Germany, the German government is also concentrating on resolving its labor shortages, reported TOI.
“At 43000, Indian students form the largest number of international students in Germany. It is important to make the German labor market attractive for Indian students after they get their educational degrees to address the increasing gap in skilled workers in the German labor market,” German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) president, Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee, said during a press briefing in New Delhi.
He added that following the discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last year, and Germany’s newly enacted Skilled Immigration Act, Indian students will find a smoother pathway into the German labor market.
“For Indian students, who have got German degrees, many of which are taught in English; the way to getting employment in Germany and other Schengen area countries is now more attractive.
We believe in the concept of brain circulation rather than brain drain, and we think that international students who are well qualified can follow a very successful professional career path in Germany,” Dr. Mukherjee said.
Data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany reveals a 26 percent increase in the count of Indian students in Germany over the past year, reaching 42,997 for the winter semester of 2022-23.
Indians constitute the predominant cohort of international students at German universities, with engineering being the most favored discipline at 60 percent, followed by law, management, and social studies at 22 percent, and mathematics and natural sciences at 14 percent, among the sought-after fields of study.
