Hochrangige Konsensgruppe Fachkräftebedarf und Zuwanderung
In light of already existing regional and sectoral labour shortages as well as demographic aging, Stiftung Mercator has initiated together with a group of German foundations the High-Level Consensus Group on Skilled Labour Demand and Immigration (Hochrangige Konsensgruppe Fachkräftebedarf und Zuwanderung). The Consensus Group uses the recommendations of the 2011 annual report of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (Sachverständigenrat deutscher Stiftungen für Integration und Migration or SVR) as a starting point.
Structure and organization
Chaired by Dr Peter Struck and Armin Laschet, the Consensus Group has drawn up proposals for better utilization of the potential labour force and for a future-oriented and strategic control of immigration to Germany. The proposals, which should have high chances of receiving broad political support, have been published in the Group’s final report. The Consensus Group had been commissioned to draft concrete proposals for politicians and the general public – across party lines – about how to meet the country’s demand for skilled labour.
It is chaired by Dr. Peter Struck (former Federal Minister of Defense and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany or SPD) and Armin Laschet (former Minister of Generations, Family, Women and Integration of the Land North Rhine-Westphalia and member of the Christian Democratic Party or CDU). The further members of the Consensus Group are the following: Professor Herta Däubler-Gmelin (SPD), Arndt Kirchhoff (Federation of German Industries/Confederation of German Employers Associations or BDI/BDA), Julia Klöckner (CDU), Professor Andreas Pinkwart (Free Democratic Party or FDP), Irmingard Schewe-Gerigk (Alliance 90/The Greens), Dr. h.c. Rudolf Seiters (CDU), Ludwig Stiegler (SPD), Professor Rita Süssmuth (CDU), Michael Vassiliadis (Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union or IG BCE), Dr. Theo Waigel (Christian Social Union of Bavaria or CSU) and Monika Wulf-Mathies (SPD).
The Consensus Group is an initiative of Stiftung Mercator, the Freudenberg Foundation, the Körber Foundation and the Vodafone Foundation Germany. The Robert Bosch Stiftung supports the Consensus Group with academic studies.
The Consensus Group is an initiative of Stiftung Mercator, the Freudenberg Foundation, the Körber Foundation and the Vodafone Foundation Germany. The Robert Bosch Stiftung supports the Consensus Group with academic studies.
Objectives
Increasingly, a consensus emerges that there are sectoral and regional labour shortages in Germany. Demographic changes will make these shortages more pronounced in the years to come. Together with measures aimed at using domestic resources, such as improving qualifications of unemployed persons, increasing employment of elderly persons and women, and reducing the dropout rates in schools and apprenticeships, targeted immigration is an important measure for reducing labour shortages. The foundations have created a platform to reach a cross-party consensus on the highly disputed topic of immigration reform. The consensus is supposed to give an impulse to reform Germany’s current immigration regulations. The objective is that they make a targeted and strategic contribution to meet current and future needs of the German labour market.