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Hubertus Heil: "We benefit, the countries of origin benefit and the people who come to us benefit"
Photograph:
Rainer Keuenhof / POOL / EPA
The traffic light coalition wants to recruit more nurses from countries with a large workforce potential, such as Brazil. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" (Saturday) that they would "implement a recruitment strategy together with the economy in countries where there are more young and well-educated people than the local labor market can absorb."
Heil announced that he would travel to Brazil in June together with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), because there is a very large workforce in the care sector. In addition, there are agreements with Indonesia and Mexico.
"We will proceed very sensitively so that we do not deprive any country of the workers it needs itself," Heil said. "We benefit, the countries of origin benefit, for example by getting involved in local training, and the people who come to us benefit: through a well-paid job for themselves and perhaps also through the opportunity to financially support family members in their home country."
According to estimates, Germany needs up to 180,000 additional nurses because the population is getting older and the number of employees is tending to decrease. However, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) placed just 2022 nurses from abroad in Germany in 656. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 2022,52 people in Germany began training as nurses in 300, which was 4000 or seven percent fewer than in the previous year.
wbr/dpa