The GuardianThe Guardian

German call for English to be second official language amid labour shortage

By Philip Oltermann

10 Feb 2023 · 2 min read

This report from The Guardian solidifies what Ana Alvarez's research into migration has found, that skilled foreign workers are being put off by unwieldy, closed-minded German bureaucracy.

Recommended by Ana Alvarez

English should become a second official language at administrative offices in Germany, one of the country’s governing parties has argued, saying unwieldy bureaucratic German is proving too much of a deterrent for much-needed skilled workers from abroad.

The three-party government of the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in which the pro-business Free Democratic party (FDP) is a junior coalition partner, last autumn unveiled its own version of a “green card” – called Chancenkarte or “opportunity card” – designed to address a critical shortage of skilled labour.

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