germany
Work permits to meet IT shortages
Germany is set to grant work permits to a further 10,000 foreign IT specialists to meet skills shortages.
Over 10,000 green cards have been distributed to foreign workers since August 2000 to tackle the shortage of trained staff in the German IT sector.
The Labour Ministry claimed the green card had been a success, with an initial survey showing that each green card entrant had created 2.5 further jobs. It did, however, stress that IT training in Germany would have to increase.
Bitkom, the IT industry association, claims the current economic downturn is lessening the need for IT staff. Stephan Pfisterer, training and personnel consultant for Bitkom, said, “There is a certain slowdown, but it is not such that no more green cards are required.”
www.faz.com
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