Unemployment is officially back on the rise in the UK and with almost 2.5+ million British citizens currently out of employment, now would seem the perfect time to draw attention to the fact that Germany is facing their own drastic talent shortage.

Historically (and given our turbulent past) Germany tends to hold very little appeal for the majority of Brits – and without sounding impolite, this tends to be because we Brits can be a little blinkered as to just how much Germany has going for it. 

Traditionally it isn’t a preferred holiday destination, it isn’t a country we do lots of mid-tier business with and of course, is a country we despise when it comes to soccer (they are simply better than us!). Yet in many ways, Germany is a country that shouldn’t be overlooked and that we should be looking much more closely…particularly for jobs and opportunity.

With a state-sponsored programme well underway, incentivising local employers to introduce all forms of exciting and imaginative schemes to recruit and retain their leading talent, there has never been a better time to consider working in Germany!

If you’re searching out jobs overseas with the intention of getting back into employment, or just simply fancy a new challenge or a change of scene, within an environment where order books are still growing and a positive atmosphere about the economy still exists, then please read our Top 10 reasons why you must be considered Germany as your next career destination.

It would be churlish to suggest that similar to the UK, Germany doesn’t have its own economic issues, it’s part of the eurozone for a starters, but unlike the UK, Germany has long been considered the ‘jewel in the crown’ in the manufacturing heartland of Europe and retains its status as a genuine manufacturing miracle.

Here are our Top 10 reasons why you should consider moving to live and work in Germany in case you need to find a properly-paying job at an awesome agency with decent employee advantages: 
 

1. Production Powerhouse
   
   From Bosch to Miele, Porsche to BMW, Siemens to Braun many of the planet’s most recognisable brands and products are manufactured in Germany!
   Also, countries like the US and China are buying up German products at an unprecedented rate meaning that employment remains buoyant, underpinned by positive economic activity and a strong and stable labour market. – The result is that Germany has Europe’s most stable economy.
   
    
2. Employment Reforms
   
   After the financial crisis s of 2008, Germany introduced significant legal reforms to its labour marketplace, resulting in employers being permitted to easily hire contract staff, and to engage a state-sponsored scheme to reduce working hours of permanent employees should a company face a downturn. – This has drastically reduced unemployment
   
    
3. Skills Shortage
   
   Reduced levels of unemployment, coupled with increased global product sales means that there’s a steadily growing skills shortage in Germany, leading a host of leading German employers to start looking overseas for skilled and talented workers to fill their business-critical positions. – This could spell real opportunity.
   
    
4. International Environment
   
   Germans, for the most part, are very well educated, and with English being a mandatory subject in all German schools, this means that the language is broadly understood throughout the country and in many cases the preferred business language. – Therefore, don’t let your lack of German hold you back from making an application to a potential employer.
    
    
5. Up-skilling
   
   German employers are incredibly proactive when it comes to investing time and resources in both their prospective and existing employees. Some companies have gone as a far as to sponsor Chinese language classes in schools so that they can recruit the next wave of individuals with the prerequisite language skills needed to further their export presence in one of their most important emerging markets
   
   They are also passionate about retaining the workers they have up-skilled and trained, with many companies investing heavily in a variety of “Health at Work” initiatives in order to keep their ageing workforce fighting fit. 
   
   This means that prospective employees can look forward to entering a labour market where employers still skill up and value their employees – Unheard of in the UK nowadays.
   
    
6. Ageing Workforce
   
   The ageing workforce in Germany is a very real problem, which means that the skills shortage is only likely to get worse over the next decade. – This could mean long-term employment prospects or even a job for life.
   
    
7. Natural Beauty
   
   Germany is a vast and beautiful country, comparable to France in terms of geographic diversity. From snow-capped mountain ranges offering up great skiing in the winter, to vast crystalline lakes and rich natural woodland to enjoy in the summer months.  It also has a dramatic and breathtaking coastline that is largely unspoilt and under-explored. – In short, Germany is a country that enjoys abundant natural beauty
   
    
8. Urban Life
   
   Germany has vibrant and exciting cities alongside beautiful and ancient towns and villages, which importantly are not ruined by over-population. This means that that cost-of-living is relatively low in comparison to other major European city hubs and personal crime statistics remain low in most of Germany. 
   
    
9. Public Transport
   
   Germany has one of the best public transport systems in Europe, and it is very practical to live in any large German city or metropolitan area without owning a car. Even medium-sized cities have very good public transportation networks that use buses, trams, and urban/suburban rail lines to move people around.
   
    
10. Cash-Money!
    
    And finally… wages for graduates have improved sharply in Germany since the 90’s (unlike in the UK where they have stagnated or even fallen), and company-wide bonuses are not just reserved for those working in the banking sector!
    
    What’s more, many companies pay extra cash to their workers before Christmas, and even in some cases, before the big summer getaway.

In summary, Germany has a great deal going for it, from an economic, employment and lifestyle perspective.  We Brits need to get past our misapprehension of this beautiful country so as not to miss out on the wealth of fantastic opportunities to find a good, well-paying job with strong employers, in a country that is as beautiful and culturally rich as any in Europe.