Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek emphasized: "We need well-trained specialists in Germany! The figures of the recognition statistics confirm that we already have instruments for the assessment and recognition of foreign professional qualifications, which are in great demand. For the targeted recruitment of foreign skilled workers with recognized qualifications we will continue to work on an even stronger bundling and consistency in the implementation of the states!”

The focus of labor migration will be set more on the demand for skilled workers who completed vocational training. The entry requirements should be the equivalence assessment of the professional qualification.

The share of those who received a positive ruling is very high. In 2017, in 61 percent of cases, full recognition was granted and in 9 percent the partial one. 28 percent of applicants have to complete a formalized additional training in order to be able to work in their profession. Only in 2 percent of cases, no equivalence could be established between a credential obtained abroad and a corresponding German qualification.

In 2017, most frequent country of origin among the applicants was Syria. In total, 3600 applications for recognition of a Syrian vocational training were filed in. This is a 80 percent increase over the previous year. Bosnia and Herzegovina with 3100 applications and Serbia with 2400 followed. 

All skilled workers wishing to work in Germany are eligible to apply for professional recognition regardless of place of residence. Thus, skilled workers living abroad can also apply for recognition. In 2017, some 3,600 professionals made use of this opportunity.