East fights together for more skilled workers

By Sven Heitkamp

Leipzig. The eastern German states want to work more closely together in the future to attract more skilled workers and employees to the regions. This was agreed on Wednesday by the labor ministers of the eastern states at a meeting in Leipzig.

Among other things, it was decided to better coordinate efforts to recruit international workers, organize transnational events and recruitment projects abroad such as at international job fairs, said Saxony's Minister of Economics Martin Dulig (SPD) after the discussion with representatives of business, trade unions and chambers.

A nine-page paper was adopted that provides for five agreements. These include, above all, the easier integration of migrants into the labor market. To this end, the states also want to promote intercultural openness in their administrations.

The administrations would have to set a good example and increase the proportion of international employees in state and local administrations. In addition, the eastern states want to standardize and simplify regulations for lateral entrants to the nursing and health professions, said Saxony-Anhalt's Minister of Labor Petra Grimm-Benne (SPD). Another important goal is to give more young people without school-leaving qualifications access to educational opportunities and routes into the labor markets, said Carsten Schneider, the federal government's representative for eastern Germany. "We must not forget the potential of domestic skilled workers."

A regular conference of labor ministers on the recruitment of skilled workers and the attractiveness of eastern Germany had been decided in February at a meeting of the minister presidents of eastern Germany. "In contrast to the past, when eastern Germany was often advertised as a low-wage location, we want to create attractive working conditions," Dulig emphasized.