Germany's search for skilled workers amid xenophobic image
Germany desperately needs skilled workers. That's why some of the country's top politicians have gone on a promotion tour. But there is heavy competition from other countries, and the rise of the far-right in Germany worries those who want to come.
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00:00 German Federal President Steinmeier and Labour Minister Heil on a promotional tour in Vietnam.
00:06 The goal?
00:07 Skilled workers.
00:08 Easier said than done these days.
00:10 There is heavy competition from other countries and Germany's current image problem is not
00:15 helping either.
00:17 We need clever heads and helping hands in Germany and therefore open-mindedness.
00:22 And that's why we oppose all forms of racism.
00:25 The right-wing populists in Germany are damaging our country, not least economically.
00:31 The two countries want to cooperate even more closely on migration issues in the future.
00:37 Heil and his Vietnamese counterpart signed an agreement to this effect.
00:41 Germany is not unpopular in Vietnam.
00:44 Many Vietnamese have family or friends in the Federal Republic.
00:48 Over 200,000 people with a Vietnamese background currently live and work there.
00:54 But it's the rise of the far right in Germany that worries recruiters.
01:00 The current situation is cause for reflection.
01:03 It is a difficult situation for society as a whole, not just for our sector.
01:10 So it is very important for us to prepare students, trainees and skilled workers that
01:15 they understand fully what is happening at the moment.
01:21 Countries like Vietnam are important for Germany's efforts.
01:25 Recruiting agencies in the South-East Asian countries specialize in the catering, healthcare
01:30 and nursing sectors, areas in which there are particular shortages in the German labor
01:35 market.
01:38 But the German government's search is also turning to countries that have been more closely
01:42 associated with refugee or asylum issues in recent times.
01:48 In Morocco, Development Minister Schulze is busy presenting Germany as a cosmopolitan
01:53 country to convince electricians and hotel and restaurant employees in particular.
01:59 Commenting on current reports of xenophobic groups with secret deportation plans, Schulze
02:04 says this is not Germany.
02:08 What you heard there is not what the majority of people in Germany think.
02:15 She has the support of the Moroccan Minister of Employment.
02:19 We know from the experience that you have a very welcoming country and a very open society
02:25 and no one can tell the opposite.
02:30 Despite the warm words, a recent study in Germany found that two out of three skilled
02:35 workers from non-European countries have faced discrimination.
02:39 And for a country that needs at least 400,000 newcomers every year, xenophobia only makes
02:45 the task harder.