High Demand for High-Skilled Labour in the EU

Yıl 2020, Cilt: 11 Sayı: 2, 105 - 124, 31.07.2020

Nesli Urhan

Öz

Globalisation has increased free movement of goods,
services and capital but current policies have economic, social and
security-related concerns regarding mobility of people. In this context, migration
is a hot topic since it may be associated with illegal migration and might be
considered as a burden for the welfare state. When we focus on the recent
European Union (EU) agenda, it can be stated that the main objective is
economic development, growth and worldwide competitiveness. As innovation,
high-productivity and technological developments highlight the importance of
the need for high-skilled labour force and the countries have been struggling
with the issues, such as poverty, unemployment or ageing population, qualified
immigrant workers and talented students have been preferred by the European
labour market due to the shortage of skilled workers among the EU citizens.
Therefore, a number of directives, which set out the minimum standards for the
Member States, regulate labour migration processes for third-country nationals
to facilitate their entry, residence and work permits; and to protect their
rights. This paper tries to find answers for the following questions at macro
level: How immigration policies in the EU influence labour migration in
Germany? What are the tools of the EU for managing labour migration? What kind
of labour migration policies are being implemented in Germany? It can be noted
that the EU has restrictive migration policies to attract high-skilled
labourers and facilitates exclusively their migration processes particularly in
some sectors. Moreover, addressing the most famous receiving country, this
paper focuses on German labour migration policies to see the current situation
in a member state. As a conclusion, it can be seen that although there are some
initiatives to attract foreign high-skilled workers, the influence of the EU migration
policies remains limited in German labour migration. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

EU Migration Policy, Labour Migration, Foreign High-skilled Worker, Blue Card Directive, Germany

Demand for Skilled Labour of Third Country Nationals: The EU and Germany

Öz

Küreselleşme mal, hizmet ve sermayenin serbest dolaşımını arttırırken, günümüz
politikalarının insanların serbest dolaşımına ilişkin olarak ekonomik, sosyal
ve güvenlik temelli konularda çekinceleri bulunmaktadır. Bu kapsamda, yasa dışı
göç ile ilişkilendirilmesi ve refah devletinin sırtında bir yük olarak
görülebilmesi sebebiyle göç önemli bir gündem maddesi olarak karşımıza
çıkmaktadır. Avrupa Birliği (AB)’nin gündemine odaklanıldığında temel amacın
ekonomik kalkınma, büyüme ve dünya çapında rekabet edebilirlik olduğu ifade
edilebilir. Yenilikçilik, yüksek verimlilik ve teknolojik gelişmelerin yüksek
beceriye sahip işgücüne olan ihtiyacın önemini vurgulaması ve ülkelerin yoksulluk,
işsizlik, yaşlanan nüfus sorunlarıyla uğraşmaları sebebiyle AB vatandaşları
arasında yüksek becerili işçi eksikliği ile karşılaşılmasına bağlı olarak kalifiye
olan göçmenler ile yetenekli öğrenciler Avrupa işgücü piyasası tarafından
memnuniyetle karşılanmaktadır. Bu nedenle, üye ülkelerin yerine getirmesi
gereken asgari standartları belirleyen birçok sayıda direktif, üçüncü ülke
vatandaşlarının giriş, oturma ve çalışma izinlerini kolaylaştırmak ve onların
haklarını korumak üzere işgücü göçü süreçlerini düzenlemiştir. Bu makale şu
sorulara makro seviyede yanıtlar aramaktadır: AB göçmen politikaları Almanya’daki
işgücü göçünü nasıl etkilemiştir? AB’nin göçmen politikalarını yönetirken
kullandığı araçlar nelerdir? Almanya’da ne tür işgücü politikaları uygulanmaktadır?
Bu noktada, AB’nin yüksek becerili çalışanları çekmek için sınırlayıcı göç
politikaları uyguladığı ve özellikle belirli sektörlerde göç süreçlerini
kolaylaştırıcı tutum izlediği ifade edilebilir. Dahası, en fazla göç alan ülke
olarak Almanya’ya odaklanılmasındaki sebep bu konuda göz önünde olan bir üye
ülkedeki güncel durumu inceleyebilmektir. Sonuç olarak, bu makale, AB’nin
yüksek becerili işgücünü birlik bünyesine çekmek için birçok girişimi olsa da,
üye devletler üzerindeki etkisinin kısıtlı kaldığını göstermektedir.     

Anahtar Kelimeler

EU Migration Policy, Labour Migration, Foreign High-Skilled Worker, EU Blue Card Directive, Germany

Kaynakça

• Cerna, L. (2013). ‘Understanding the diversity of EU migration policy in practice: the implementation of the Blue Card initiative’. Policy Studies, 34:2, 180-200. Council Directive No. 2009/50/EC of 25 May 2009 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment.
• European Commission. ‘Skills and qualifications’. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1146&langId=en
• European Commission. Migration. ‘Towards a European Agenda on Migration’. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/migration_en
• European Commission. (2015). ‘Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. A European Agenda on Migration’.
• European Commission. (2016). ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly skilled employment’.
• European Parliament. (2019). Fact Sheets on the European Union. Immigration Policy. Avaliable from http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ftu/pdf/en/FTU_4.2.3.pdf
• European Parliamentary Research Service. (2017). Briefing EU Legislation in Progress. ‘Revision of the Blue Card Directive’.
• Ghimis A. (2016). Strategic Sectors, Culture & Society. ‘The EU’s Labour Migration Policy: Recent Developments and What More is Needed’. IEMed Mediterranean Yearbook 2016, 312-315.
• Karaaslan, İ. and A. Şenkal. (2019). ‘Labour Migration and International Labour Standards: An Assessment in Terms of Labour Market’. İnsan&İnsan. 6:12, 45-62.
• Laubenthal; B. (2017). ‘Introduction: Labour migration in Europe: Changing policies – changing organizations – changing people’. International Migration. 55:S1.
• Reuters. December 19, 2018. ‘German cabinet approves immigration laws to ease worker shortage’. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-immigration-law/german-cabinet-approves-immigration-laws-to-ease-worker-shortage-idUSKBN1OI1RO
• Tali, M. (2019). ‘Paper commissioned for the Global Education Monitoring Report 2019 Consultation on Migration’.
• The Local. May 15, 2018. ‘Record high’ number of vacant positions in Germany’s IT sector’. Avaliable from: https://www.thelocal.de/20180515/record-high-number-of-vacant-positions-in-germanys-it-sector
• For data: EURES, ‘Vacancies’
• For data: EUROSTAT, ‘Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders by type of decision and citizenship’
• For data: OECD, ‘Foreign-born participation rate’