Calls grow to make English the second official language of Germany to attract skilled workers

One of the coalition parties of the ruling government has proposed that English be adopted as the second official language of Germany in a bid to attract more skilled labourers from other English speaking nations in the European country.The Free Democratic Party (FDP), which is in alliance with the three-party government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, had unveiled its own version of a “green card” — calledChancenkarte or “opportunity card” — to address a critical shortage of skilled labour.

“Skilled workers who want to come to Germany should be able to successfully apply for our new points-based ‘green card’ scheme from abroad even if they don’t yet speak fluent German,” Johannes Vogel of the FDP told the Guardian.

He said that the new system has been designed in such a way that makes it possible for applicants to qualify even if they were not fluent in German.

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“And the offices where they have to register once these workers are here should be able to offer them English application forms and caseworkers who are fluent in English,” he added.

The latest push comes against the backdrop of rising demand for skilled workers as the country tries to drive up the economy following the pandemic.

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According to the Federal Employment Agency, a record 764,326 vacancies at German businesses was reported in January this year. Last year, the annual average was 844,000, with desperate shortages in sectors like pharmaceutical, engineering and IT.

The head of the agency, Andrea Nahles, had suggested last November that Europe’s largest economy would need an annual intake of about 400,000 skilled workers from abroad to fill the gap.

The call to make English a second language found resonance within the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, whose president Peter Adrian, recently told Münchner Merkur newspaper: “English is the world language and should suffice for anyone to achieve great things in many German businesses.”

The idea was first floated by the FDP when it entered the government in December 2021. However, it was rejected by the organisation responsible for those working in administrative offices.

“When it comes to ordinances and laws, the official language in this country applies for reasons of legal certainty, and that is German,” a spokesperson for the Civil Servants’ Association (DBB) told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland last year.

(With inputs from agencies)

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