Signite's Magazine

The State Agency for the Immigration of Skilled Workers (LZF) has been active in Baden-Württemberg since 1 April. The new authority is intended to facilitate the immigration of skilled workers and strengthen Baden-Württemberg as a business location by serving as a central point of contact for companies. Specifically, it is about digitised processing of applications, […]

The German Professional Association for Nursing Professions (DBfK) wants to use the survey “Nursing, how are you?”to determine how the mood among nurses is developing. According to the DBfK, the online survey is aimed at all professional caregivers and will run until 13 April 2025. It asks about satisfaction with the general conditions of the […]

Despite a significant increase in staffing levels in recent years, the shortage of staff continues to be a major problem for many hospitals in Germany. This is shown by the results of the new 2025 Skilled Labour Monitoring report by the German Hospital Federation (DKG), which is based on a survey of 135 hospitals. Between […]

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of new nursing trainees in 2024 increased by nine percent or 5,100 to around 59,500 across Germany compared to the previous year. However, the number of trainees in nursing has not changed across all three current training years: 147,100 people in 2024, and thus around 200 more […]

The German Professional Association for Nursing Professions (DBfK) has accused hospital employers of not taking enough action against the shortage of nursing staff. There is too often a lack of introduction of more attractive roles for nursing staff and modern, i.e. more flexible working time models. The reform of hospital structures currently being discussed by […]

German hospitals have a massive staffing problem in nursing. Almost every hospital (94%) has vacant nursing positions on general wards that are not filled. Three quarters of intensive care units have vacancies in intensive care. And in two thirds of hospitals with paediatric wards, positions remain unfilled. The figures are the result of a representative […]

The new Immigration Act will make it easier for job seekers and people from the Western Balkans to immigrate to Germany. In this third and final part, we look at the laws that will apply from June 2024. Introduction of the job search opportunity card An opportunity card will be introduced for job-seeking residence. There […]

Staff shortages continue to be one of the biggest problems in Germany. And it will become even more acute in the future. This has a lot to do with the ageing German society. According to a study by the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, 5.7 million people in need of care can be […]

In Germany, the statutory minimum wage is the absolute lower limit for the payment of labour. In many sectors, trade unions and employers have agreed on minimum wages that are higher than the statutory minimum wage, in some cases very significantly. We show you the industry minimum wages for some sectors and explain in advance […]

The shortage of skilled labour in Germany is an issue in many sectors. In the transport sector the lack has recently grown the most in relative terms. According to a study by the Competence Centre for Securing Skilled Labour (Kofa) of the Institute of German Business (IW), which is closely linked to employers, the demand […]

The government of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg has agreed to set up a state agency for the immigration of skilled workers (LZF), which will also take on coordination and counselling tasks. As part of this reform, there will also be a central immigration authority for foreign skilled workers, replacing the 137 local immigration authorities […]

Since 1 March, the new Immigration Act for Germany has made it possible for future skilled workers to obtain a visa without a notice of deficiency. We explain exactly how this works here. Since the beginning of this month, applications for a work visa can also be submitted without a decision on deficits. Even with […]

The industry trade union IG BCE and the German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies are warning of impending competitive disadvantages and a weakening of innovative strength. The most important reason for this is the significant shortage of labour. This applies to laboratories as well as to production halls and research departments in the industry. According […]

In a nationwide raid, the customs authorities searched for evidence of social security fraud and illegal employment in the care sector. The action was directed against a complex of companies that provide care staff for 24-hour care in private households, according to the public prosecutor’s office in Dortmund and the main customs office in Münster. […]

The shortage of skilled labour is affecting many sectors in Germany. It has now also reached the traditional branch of mechanical engineering. At the start of the new training year, many apprenticeship places remain unfilled. This is because there is a lack of qualified applicants, according to the industry association VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und […]

Germany’s Federal Statistical Office has published new statistics on the recognition of foreign professional qualifications. According to the figures, the number of positive recognition procedures increased from 52,300 in 2022 to 65,300 in 2023 (up 25 per cent). This is 11% more than in the previous year. Compared to 2016, when Destatis recorded the recognition […]