As Europe’s largest economy, and the world’s fourth largest by GDP, Germany is an extremely attractive place to work. According to recent reports, it is also facing a skills shortage across many sectors, with a projected shortfall of three million workers by 2030. Due to its ageing population, the country needs foreign workers to make up this deficit. For well-qualified professionals, therefore, there are lots of opportunities across different sectors and industries.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, most sought-after workers are those in the IT and software sectors. According to a survey conducted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, three of the top five positions are in these areas. Software developers and programmers are the most in demand workers, followed by electronics engineers in second place and IT consultants and analysts in fourth place. Other highly desired workers are in the healthcare, sales, and architecture sectors.

The people best placed to get these jobs in Germany are usually university graduates, and preferably those with at least some professional experience in their fields. Fields within engineering, including structural, mechanical, electrical, and automotive engineering, are particularly useful to have a degree in, as they will open up lots of job opportunities. These degrees do not need to have been earned in Germany, however, as long as they are equivalent to German qualifications. The country is open to immigrants and the government has recently passed a law drafted in 2018, which aimed to make the labour market more accessible to non-EU skilled workers.

As well as engineering and related fields, there are also lots of vacancies available in healthcare, teaching, and retail, among other areas. Many of these areas offer internships of a year or more, after which you will progress to a full-time job. There are also other options to complete vocational training if you are not yet a skilled professional, but still want to access the German job market. Dual study programs are available nationwide, and many employers will fund or otherwise aid workers in taking part in these. Other jobs do require you to have already undertaken some training; in the medical field, for example, you can get a license to practise as long as you have a degree that is equivalent to the German medicine qualification.

Further information about the jobs most demanded by German companies is available on www.deutschland.de.

Source: Dekra Arbeitsmarkt Report, 2018