In Search of A Better Future

Is Germany losing some of its best-educated, highly qualified and talented nationals?

The answer to that may not be straightforward, but Christina Busch confirms that more Germans than ever are looking for ways to get out of Germany. Busch works for Rafaels-Werk, a German Catholic charity that gives advice to people who want to move away -- not just to another city, but to another country.

"I got 500-800 enquiries last year. The Berlin office alone," Christina Busch told DW-WORLD. She says the number of requests for information on emigration went up dramatically in 2002, 50 percent more than the previous year.

Germans in demand abroad

At the same time an increasing number of foreign companies, in search of skilled labor, are making a beeline to Germany to lure the best.

For instance, about two weeks ago, the Zentralstelle für Arbeitsvermittlung (ZAV) organised a recruiting drive for four companies from Switzerland who were looking for painters, masons, roofers and plumbers. The employers were particular that the applicants had completed their training and had work experience to show.

The ZAV consultant for the foreign labor market, Hans Groffebert said that qualified Germans were much in demand internationally.

"Their work organization, qualifications, discipline and their readiness to work hard is treasured," he told the Berliner Zeitung.

Working conditions better abroad

Dr. Susann Kattelhön of the German Medical Association too, has noticed a change among doctors. She works for the organization’s foreign service, which advises doctors on having qualifications recognized abroad and ensuring further training will be recognized if they return to Germany.

“Until now there were comparatively few enquiries, but it is an increasing trend,” Kattelhön admits. She says the reasons are usually the same: working conditions are better elsewhere.

The doctors tend to go to England, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France, countries that have a need for medical personnel and actively recruit well-qualified doctors and nurses from abroad. There the pay is better than in Germany, and the working hours are shorter.

Official statistics belie trend towards going abroad

But despite the obvious demand for well-qualified Germans abroad, official figures within Germany don't point towards a brain-drain trend in the country.

Although the German Federal Statistics Office says the amount of people leaving the country has increased from 466,300 in 1980 to 674,000 in 2000, it says that foreigners made up for the high amount of people turning their backs on Germany.

The number of Germans who moved away actually dropped from 116,400 in 1999 to 109,500 in 2001, according to the Statistics Office. However, that includes all Germans who went abroad, whether temporarily or permanently.

Red tape and lack of friendiness driving Germans away

Although Germany’s Labor and Economics minister announced that unemployment reached a five-year high of 4.5 million in January, lack of work is not necessarily what is driving people away.

Busch also discounts speculation that the political situation is at fault. "It has nothing to do with the parliamentary elections (in September)," she exclaims. The wave of interest in emigrating began earlier, she says.

Many of the people wanting to emigrate go abroad to further their careers, while others are married to a foreigner and plan to move to their spouse’s homeland, says Busch.

One major reason for people wanting to leave Germany, according to Busch, is the lack of warmth and friendliness in the country. Common complaints she hears while counseling people fed up with Gemany are, "I feel increasingly uneasy here, it’s just not right here anymore, I don’t want to be here anymore. It’s too hectic, too stressful, too bureaucratic,” they tell her.

And surprisingly, it’s not just foreigners or Germans who have spent longer stretches abroad who complain about the “Sozialkälte” -- social coldness -- in Germany. Busch is reminded of a comment she says sums it up: “Where the grouchy people are -- that must be where the plane to Germany goes.”

U.S. tops the list

Busch estimates that two-thirds of the people who seek her out have work. Craftsmen, medical personnel, architects, IT specialists and pensioners come looking for advice. Most of them find jobs abroad before they move.

At the moment Busch is advising a farming family that has decided to sell its stead here to go farm in Canada. “We’re fed up with the bureaucracy,” the farmers told her.

Most of Busch’s clients see the U.S. as the best option, followed by Spain, Canada, Australia and France respectively.

Whether the German migrants eventually return home is unclear. Both Busch and Kattelhön have little contact with people who want to return. Dr. Kattelhön, however, speaks from her own experience working as an internal specialist abroad. “If I had wanted to continue working as a doctor, I would have stayed in Switzerland,” she says.