2024-01-05 16:05:20
“Coming to Germany is definitely coming to the largest economy in Europe, which requires specialized personnel in various areas,” Ricardo Zimic, a Peruvian who worked for five years in local media and then traveled to Germany to study a master’s degree that awarded him the DAAD, a German academic exchange service.
He has now lived in that country for more than five years, where he was an academic researcher and today he is a specialist in analytics and marketing.
“My master’s professor liked my work and hired me as a researcher at TU Ilmenau (…) now I work as a communication consultant,” Zimic said.
Currently, “the country of poets and thinkers” is looking for foreign professionals to meet its high demand for qualified personnel in key sectors of its economy.
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Peruvian professionals in Germany
According published data from the UN, there are 20,599 Peruvians in Germany. And according to figures from the Peruvian consulate general in Hamburg, 11,255 Peruvian residents of that country are authorized to vote (excluding those with dual nationality).
Between 2011 and 2021, the Peruvian population in Germany increased 33.7%, according to the Institute of German Economics.
“Peruvians who reside in Germany have an average educational level and in some cases higher. They are generally architects, engineers, teachers, doctors and nurses; These last two are professions with a lot of demand,” Ana Peña, ambassador of the Consulate General of Peru in Hamburg, tells Gestión.
According to information from DW, Peru is one of the Latin American countries that exports the most professionals to Germany, only behind Colombia and Mexico.
“There is a high percentage of Peruvian women who are married to German citizens, which allows them to have a stable stay in the city, as well as practice a profession,” Peña explained.
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Also, there is a group of Peruvians who come to the German country for study reasons, such as master’s degrees or doctorates, and what always happens is that they end up practicing their profession in said country, as pointed out by the ambassador.
However, as happens in other cities in the world, Peruvians wear an apron and a chef’s hat.
“We have more than 50 Peruvian restaurants in Germany,” said the ambassador, who also highlighted their development potential in that country.
For example, in Berlin, the restaurant “136″ is led by Matías Díaz, a Peruvian chef who left Huaraz (north of Lima) and traveled to Madrid to study cooking—he actually wanted to be a soccer player, but cooking trapped him—, In the end he stayed to live in Germany and that is where he became a chef. Now his restaurant is in the Michelin guide.
The restaurant “136″ is led by Matías Díaz, a Peruvian chef who lives in Berlin.
Another more recent area that has grown due to globalization is “e-commerce”; The ambassador said that there are Peruvians who have their virtual stores to sell, for example, coffee, chocolate, pisco, quinoa, chicha morada, filter tea, among other food products.
“The Peruvian has the capacity for suffering, versatility, perseverance and focuses on bringing results,” Ernesto Rubio, CEO of Ronald Career Services, explained to Gestión about the skills of the Peruvian profile that may be of interest to the German employer.
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Ricardo Zimic is a Peruvian-Croatian who has lived in Germany since 2018 and is a communications and marketing specialist. He was also a DAAD scholarship recipient in Germany. He worked as a journalist at Agencia Andina, Canal N and América Noticias. (Photo: Joaquín Salvatierra)
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Demand from key sectors of your economy
Germany needs 400 thousand foreign workers annually, as its own workforce is in “intensive care”: there is a shortage of qualified workers.
“The country is in a phase in which the population ages and the proportion between the active and retired population changes,” Ralf Modlich, Public Affairs advisor at the German Embassy in Peru, explained to Gestión.
Currently, in that country, people of retirement age make up the smallest part of its population, but—according to the advisor to the German embassy—in about 15 years they will make up the majority.
In the middle of the year, Germany’s Labor Minister, Hubertus Heil, revealed to the Financial Times that, if they do not find new professionals, in 2035 there will be a shortage of 7 million workers.
The solution? falls on the new immigration law for qualified personnel, which allows educated foreigners to more easily access the German labor market.
“Salary limits were lowered and the group of people who can apply for the EU work permit (Blue Card) was expanded,” Modlich explained.
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Now IT professionals—a sector with the greatest demand for personnel—no longer need to process the homologation of a university degree; instead, their minimum experience of two years in the labor field will be required.
“Almost all German industry demands entry-level positions, that is, junior analysts or coordinators, since there is a shortage of talent for the progress of that country,” said Rubio, CEO of Ronald Career Services.
Although this law began to be implemented in 2020, it was not enough and the requirements have been made even more flexible. It was approved in June and implemented starting in November last year; It will be easier for skilled workers to process work permits.
In that sense, the advisor to the German embassy in Peru said that the professions most in demand in Germany are the areas of mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, engineering and human medicine.
“Many personnel are needed in construction, child care, health, veterinary and education sectors. And especially relevant for Peru: managers of the mining sector,” explained Modlich.
In this regard, Ana Peña recalled that these professions are considered “priority” in the labor immigration law due to their high demand and shortage of personnel.
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Ana Peña, Peruvian ambassador at the Consulate General of Peru in Hamburg, Germany.
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What are the challenges?
In Germany, living standards are high, demand for housing is high and in short supply. However, if you have resources, master German and have your papers in order, you may be able to live and adapt to that country without any problem; Still, it is not easy, it requires effort.
German proficiency
Learning German is difficult for any professional who wants to live in Germany. “There is a challenging integration process due to the language,” said Ricardo Zimic, a resident of Germany, who assured that around 100 hours of class are required for each level to learn the language, and in the European framework there are six levels: from A1 (the most basic) up to C2 (native).
“For a professional in Germany, the ideal would be to reach C1 with 500 hours of class,” added Zimic, a former DAAD scholarship recipient in Germany.
It requires around 100 hours of class for each level to learn the language, and in the European framework there are six levels: from A1 (the most basic) to C2 (native).
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Bureaucratic procedures
Processing a visa to study in Germany should generally not take a month—Peña points out—but in reality it takes six months. “I remember that as a result of the pandemic, the procedures take a long time, now, perhaps there is a lot of demand and they cannot handle the visas,” said the Peruvian ambassador.
“It is important that all documents are apostilled (legalized), since it is the only way in which the German government recognizes them as truthful,” said Ricardo Zimic.
Processing a visa to study in Germany should generally not take a month—Peña points out—but in reality it takes six months.
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Save money
Foreigners who want to study or work in the German country must have sufficient resources to cover their expenses, since the government requires them to have a deposit or a certain amount of euros so that they can reside in Germany.
“They must have a budget or financial help, which can come from their own family in Peru or Germany,” explained the Peruvian ambassador in Hamburg.
Foreigners who want to study or work in the German country must have sufficient resources to cover their expenses. (Photo: Pixabay/Reference)
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Labor hub and remote work: alternatives to labor migration
Beyond labor migration, there are also several ways to work from Peru for foreign companies.
Two months ago Gestión learned that the Embassy of Peru in Spain announced the execution of a “labor hub” project, which consists of generating work locations in Peru, where Peruvians can work from there for Spain.
While US companies hire remote talent in Latin America, why? The demand for Peruvian profiles by foreign companies has been growing by double digits, especially related to ICT.
For example, Rubio, CEO of Ronald Career Services, said that his client—a Dutch company—asked him to contact, as a talent search, a trader to manage the export of fresh fruits to Germany, from the port of Chancay (Lima). ).
Keys.
- 90% of Peruvians in Germany have regular immigration status, according to the Consulate General of Peru in Hamburg.
- The average annual minimum salary of a professional in the German country is €23,964 (US$26,500)
- This 2024, Germany seeks to approve a citizenship law to attract international talent, which reduces from 8 to 5 years of residence required in that country to obtain citizenship.
READ ALSO: Demand for Peruvian profiles by foreign companies grows by double digits: The positions
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