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Stephen Sunday currently drives a school bus in Kenya; in the future he wants to work in northern Germany
Photo: Khadija Farah / DER SPIEGEL
“Please everyone buckle up,” says Stephen Sunday in German, “we’re driving off.” Then he turns on the indicator, looks over his shoulder, and steers his big yellow bus into the left lane. The scene seems unusual in Homa Bay, Kenya, because people rarely buckle up on buses in this country, and looking over their shoulders isn't really standard practice. But Sunday wants to do everything right because he no longer sees his future on the shores of Lake Victoria. But in northern Germany, at a regional transport company.
Homa Bay is not Hamburg-Bergedorf, that quickly becomes clear. Honking motorcycle taxis and a donkey cart clog the road; uphill progress is only at walking pace. Sunday chugs patiently behind the traffic obstacles in his bus, he smiles mildly, his left hand ready for use on the gear lever. Very little can unsettle him.
Sunday has been driving the bus for ten years. He works at a school and takes the children to soccer tournaments during the day. “My father was a teacher, and I also really wanted to work with children,” says the 38-year-old. When his driving skills are not needed, he helps out at school, prints exam papers or gets books. He loves his job, he says. Nevertheless, he is looking forward to what lies ahead of him: a career as a bus driver in Germany, a secure job, a solid income compared to Kenya, a new start. »I'm an explorer type.«
Kenya is now high on the list of possible countries of origin for workers in Germany, not just for bus drivers. The two countries are currently working on a migration agreement that will make job migration easier for Kenyans. Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a state visit to Nairobi last year and raved about the opportunities on the German job market. At a press conference after the meeting, Kenyan President William Ruto even spoke of 250,000 positions that his compatriots in Germany could fill. An obvious oversight, because the overall demand for labor migration to Germany is so high. But the hype had long since started.
The Goethe Institute in the capital Nairobi offers advice for those wishing to migrate; their consultation hours have been well attended since the Chancellor's visit. »Demand has increased significantly, Germany is much more on the radar as a target country. This represents a great opportunity for both sides,” says project manager Claudia Schilling. Bakers from North Rhine-Westphalia who are looking for apprentices and high school graduates from Kenya who want to work in the German healthcare system are now calling her. But Schilling also warns: “Above all, we now have to manage expectations; some of them are unrealistic, on both sides.”
Because the hurdles are still high. The agency from Berlin-Mitte in Kenya, with which bus driver Sunday also wants to come to Germany to save local transport, has identified more than 100 candidates. The former Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Torsten Albig is co-founder of the company. They have just concluded their first contract for five bus drivers with a northern German transport company - it wasn't uncomplicated.
"It's a pilot project and the bureaucratic challenges are enormous," says co-founder Bärbel Boy. You can see: "Germany is not yet a country of immigration." This starts with the recognition of qualifications: all candidates from Kenya already have one Bus driving license, but in Germany not even your car driving license is accepted. So you have to start from scratch again. They also have to take a Chamber of Commerce exam, which can take up to six months. The possible costs for local transport companies: several thousand euros. Britta Oehlrich, managing director of the Hamburg Holstein transport company, is not discouraged by such obstacles in view of the acute shortage of young talent: "We have to break new ground when it comes to recruiting employees."
Classes are currently underway on the shores of Lake Victoria. A German teacher stands in front of the prospective specialists and repeats the material from the previous lessons, starting with a round of introductions. "I'm Stephen Sunday and I'm a bus driver," says the student, almost without an accent. He practiced the sentence often. The German exam is coming up at the weekend, level B1, everything has to go smoothly. “This test stands between you and the trip to Germany, remember,” teacher Connie Achieng increases the pressure.
Then it's the bus customer's turn. The teacher says that before starting work, the vehicle always has to be checked to make sure it is clean and that there is enough fuel. It is important to show up for work fit and full. Those present listen carefully and take notes. If everything goes well, they should be on the plane by March.
One thing is certain: Germany urgently needs workers from abroad, not only highly trained IT specialists and engineers, but also people who drive buses, repair cars and care for the elderly. Kenya's education system, on the other hand, enjoys a good reputation in Africa; graduates from high schools and universities are considered comparatively well trained and highly motivated. However, only a fraction of them find suitable jobs in the country and the economy is weakening. Labor migration to Germany could therefore be a win-win situation.
Two weeks ago, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was in the country and the issue of labor migration was again prominently discussed. An agreement is currently being drawn up between Kenya and Germany; it would be the second of its kind in Africa after the one with Morocco. These so-called migration partnerships are intended to create more opportunities for legal migration to Germany, especially for skilled workers. The candidates should be specifically prepared for life in Germany, including with orientation courses. At the same time, the countries of origin undertake to take back citizens who are required to leave the country.
"The topic is at the top of the agenda, but unfortunately the German bureaucracy is still lagging behind in some cases," says Maren Diale-Schellschmidt from the German Chamber of Foreign Trade (AHK) in Kenya. The AHK now offers its own dual vocational qualifications and has been trying for several months to have these recognized as equivalent in Germany. This is intended to reduce the bureaucratic effort when leaving the country. "Even if that succeeds, that doesn't mean that the local authorities in Germany will follow the recognition," complains Diale-Schellschmidt. Sometimes every municipality decides differently. For previous graduates, the process took a very long time.
Since November 2023, several changes to the law are intended to gradually reduce such bureaucratic hurdles, at least for certain professional groups. The recognition of qualifications should be made easier and in some cases even eliminated. But there is still a long way to go, as can be seen at Mount Kenya University, an hour's drive from Nairobi.
On the 13th floor, right at the top of the roof terrace, Dr. Christopher Mutembei the guests from SPIEGEL. From here you have a 360-degree view over the barren landscape at the gates of the capital, the blue of the university pool shimmers below, a group of students splash around in the water. Mutembei heads the Center for Professional Development, and he has big plans. He wants to place 10,000 university graduates in Germany, a fifth of all those enrolled. “The interest is huge, if only there were enough German teachers,” he complains. Due to the current boom, there are hardly any trained teachers left.
So things are starting off small at Mount Kenya University, with a pilot project in collaboration with Koblenz University of Applied Sciences. On the first floor of the university building there is a group of young people in green coats, surrounding dolls lying on hospital beds. The students feel the pulse, measure blood pressure, and change infusions. They are trained for use on German patients. German is being practiced in the lecture hall just around the corner: Jeremy Maina is conjugating the verb to cook. He's stepping in as a teacher again.
Maina speaks fluent German and lived in Germany for almost ten years as a student. During his studies he did numerous unskilled jobs: he worked as a scaffolder, in a laundry, and also delivered SPIEGEL. He then returned to Kenya without a qualification and from there he applied for numerous training positions. “I sent out dozens of applications, but all I got were rejections,” he says. You hear many stories like this in Kenya.
In the end, Jeremy Maina was lucky. He came across an advertisement on the Internet that they were looking for nurses for Germany. »I didn't want to believe it at first, I thought it was another shady agency. But then my sister saw the advertisement on TV,” says Maina. So he applied and was accepted. He learned from the puppets in the training room and attended courses on intercultural understanding. In August last year, he completed seven months of preparation at Mount Kenya University. Then it was actually supposed to start at a Caritas clinic in Baden-Württemberg. But at first it happened: nothing.
In order to be able to start as a trainee in Baden-Württemberg, the Stuttgart regional council must first recognize the school leaving certificate. And that takes six months on average. »I knew how things worked in Germany, it didn't surprise me. But the others were really frustrated,” says the 37-year-old. Good news has just come in, his recognition has been received and the training contract has been signed. But now the visa is still missing. The average processing time is three to four months.
The Kenyan Caroline Mwangi helped set up the program at Mount Kenya University; she currently lives and works in Nuremberg. Mwangi also leads a diaspora network for her compatriots in Germany. She looks after newcomers and offers mentoring and integration courses. “Without proper guidance and accompanying measures, most people have no chance in the jungle of authorities,” she says.
But such support is often lacking. Instead, more and more shady agencies want to profit from the current boom and exploit the plight of Kenyans. They charge potential candidates four-figure sums – before the employment contract is even signed. On the Internet they promise 60 days of vacation, high income and an all-round worry-free package. The Kenyan government is now also warning against such charlatans. “We have to steer the gold rush mood into an orderly channel,” says Mwangi.
In Homa Bay, the prospective bus drivers are currently traveling to the municipal hospital for a medical examination. You carry a long list with you: eye check, comprehensive blood count, reaction tests. Stephen Sunday covers one eye and reads a few letters on the wall. Then he stumbles a bit and the doctor diagnoses it: apparently mild myopia. In Kenya, the bus driver was traveling day and night without visual aids, but that is now set to change. But his departure will not fail because of glasses. In a few weeks he will find himself in the German late winter - if everything goes smoothly. “In any case, I’ll do my best,” he says.
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