Press release from 24.02.2022 – Closing date 25.02.2022, 11 a.m.
The Chambers of Industry and Commerce of Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig, Silicon Saxony e. V. and the association Wirtschaft für ein weltoffenes Sachsen welcome the initiative of the Saxon state government for an integration and participation law and call for the anchoring of labor migration as an essential cornerstone of self-confident skilled labor location marketing.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, Saxony will have a shortage of around 330,000 qualified specialists by 2030. According to a projection by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s Skilled Labor Monitoring, the shortfall is already around 100,000 employees subject to social insurance contributions. However, according to the same source, there is no lack of willingness on the part of the Saxon economy to hire foreign staff: More than a third of companies are already doing so, with a further 30% in the planning stage.
The chambers of industry and commerce as well as the Silicon Saxony and Wirtschaft für ein weltoffenes Sachsen associations support the Free State’s efforts to develop perspectives to counter the deficit. Saxony’s own integration and participation law is an important instrument for facilitating the influx of well-trained workers. However, the plans to date will not be enough to meet the demand. Especially as the monitoring of skilled workers makes the lack of Saxon regulations on labor migration painfully clear. So far, only 2% of Saxon companies have made use of the opportunities offered by the Federal Skilled Immigration Act.
Two concrete approaches are needed to strengthen and consolidate the potential of people with a migration background for the growth of skilled workers, which the Free State has long recognized:
- The Saxon Integration and Participation Act must anchor labor migration as a strategic component of integration efforts.
- The Free State must significantly step up its efforts to proactively market itself as a location for skilled workers.
In the coalition agreement, the governing parties committed to the principle of “demand and support” and to intensifying “…efforts to recruit skilled workers from third countries” as part of the proposed legislation. This must now be followed up with action.
The integration monitoring of the federal states from 2021 shows The proportion of employed people with a migration background in Saxony (62.6%) is particularly low compared to the national average. The anchoring of labor migration in the SITG, linked to financial relief for companies, is an important step towards equalizing this ratio. According to IHK Monitoring, the costs of bureaucracy, recruitment, training and the removal of language barriers are currently blatant barriers to hiring foreign staff. Legal regulations, including for employment relationships subject to social security contributions for personnel from third countries, facilitate the evaluation of labor market access, qualifications and training measures.
A successful and healthy economy promotes social cohesion and makes a considerable contribution to intercultural understanding through the integration of foreign workers.
Labor migration as a legal component has the potential to make Saxony a reliable partner within the community building with recruiting target regions – as an important basis for making Saxony competitive both nationally and internationally with proactive skilled labor location marketing.
The prospering business location of Saxony must be positioned as an attractive place to live and work in the global competition for the best minds. It is also important to identify talented people worldwide and to create incentives for them to choose a career in Saxony by promoting their potential.
Barriers must be removed and innovation made easier. 30% of start-ups in Germany are already founded by migrants. Diversity as a driver of innovation can no longer be ignored. Saxony can set itself up as a pioneer with convincing and persuasive steps – with knowledge of the needs of its own business location and the conditions on the labor market, to secure prosperity and basic democratic values.
People who create something together reduce resentment and thus involuntarily work towards a benevolent, value-based coexistence at eye level. The 2017 report “Needs, prerequisites and implementation options for a Saxon integration law” by the Center for Integration Studies at TU Dresden points out that the “intercultural opening of companies in terms of the successful integration of employees with a migration background through the implementation of advisory and training services […] can also serve to prevent extremism in the workforce”.
Quintessence
Saxony can and must distinguish itself nationally and internationally as a pacesetter of modern labor market and integration policy.
To this end, it is essential that the integration of international skilled workers into the Saxon economy and civil society is secured in the long term by anchoring labor migration in the SITG and that Saxony is established internationally as an attractive place to live through innovative skilled worker location marketing.
Press release Silicon Saxony e.V.
Contact for further information:
Office
Economy for a cosmopolitan Saxony e. V.
Königstrasse 4
01097 Dresden
Tel: +49 351 89 69 87-50
info@www.welcomesaxony.de
Spokesman of the Executive Board
Robert Czajkowski
Economy for a cosmopolitan Saxony e. V.
c/o Terrot GmbH
Paul-Gruner-Strasse 72B
09120 Chemnitz
+49 0371 52010
Press contact, Deputy Spokeswoman of the Executive Board
Sylvia Pfefferkorn
Economy for a cosmopolitan Saxony e. V.
c/o Pfefferkorn & Friends
Königstrasse 4
01097 Dresden
+49 351 / 811 987 04