{"id":18528,"date":"2022-08-02T13:55:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T11:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/de\/?post_type=opinion&p=27660"},"modified":"2022-12-29T15:28:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-29T14:28:53","slug":"deutschland-braucht-eine-einwanderungsinitiative","status":"publish","type":"opinion","link":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/press-and-media\/newsroom\/opinions\/deutschland-braucht-eine-einwanderungsinitiative\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201eGermany needs an immigration initiative\u201c"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dear Readers, <\/h2>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u201dSkilled labour shortage\u201d may sound like a rather abstract concept, but we\u2019re beginning to experience the reality of it: Endless queues at airports. Reduced opening hours at restaurants. We\u2019re starting to see and feel the effects of personnel shortages on the labour market more and more. What has long been described as a shortage of skilled workers in certain segments, such as the need for highly qualified people in the IT sector, has since escalated into a cross-sector labour shortage at all skill levels. Companies cannot solve the problem on their own. I believe that Germany needs an immigration initiative.<\/p>\n

As a retail and tourism group, we can be especially proud: Thanks to employees from over 140 countries, we can meet our customers\u2019 local shopping needs and make their dream holiday come true. We are also one of the few industries to offer crisis-proof job prospects to everyone from unskilled workers to highly qualified specialists. We have especially demonstrated this over the last two years.<\/p>\n

However, we are still experiencing labour shortages at the REWE Group, whether in logistics, IT, sales, purchasing or at the customer service counter. We\u2019re already hearing from stores in rural areas that need to open later in the morning or close their doors earlier in the evening. As one of Germany\u2019s largest employers, we recruit around 50,000 new employees in this country annually.<\/p>\n

Of course, the responsibility lies with companies to create attractive offers for employees, and this includes prioritizing work-life balance, further training opportunities, fair wages and an occupational health policy. But even these measures have their limits, and open positions can be filled only when there are enough people to do so.<\/p>\n

We support the federal government in recognizing this glaring issue and in setting out in its coalition agreement that it will strengthen economic immigration and further develop immigration law. Consequently, we welcome the proposed reform to allow long-term migrants in Germany to apply for residency. Because it must be noted that the employment market in Germany is bare.<\/p>\n

With the prevailing labour shortage, we are not in a situation where foreign workers would be competing for jobs with citizens in this country. Rather, we would be creating opportunities for many people, facilitating integration in many places, and attracting workers to jobs that would otherwise remain vacant. As I see it, this is a classic win-win situation.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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With the prevailing labour shortage, we are not in a situation where foreign workers would be competing for jobs with citizens in this country. Rather, we would be creating opportunities for many people, facilitating integration in many places, and attracting workers to jobs that would otherwise remain vacant.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n

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Christopher Ranft, Head of Talent Acquisition<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Christopher Ranft, Head of Talent Acquisition<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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But this first step \u2013 a law allowing long-term migrants to apply for residency \u2013 must soon be followed by others. Steps that are effective, practical and with as little red tape as possible. It\u2019s vitally important. That is why we are still cautious about initiatives such as the introduction of an \u201copportunity card\u201d for the allocation of employment visas, or a points system with personal- and occupation-related criteria. I understand that these proposals seek to control access to the German labour market, but these measures must also be designed in a way that is practical for companies \u2013 and also keeping the international competition for labour in mind as well.<\/p>\n

Similar adjustments need to be made in the recognition of foreign educational and professional qualifications by reducing bureaucracy and streamlining processes.\u00a0 For example, the authorities should accept documents in English across the board. And it would be enormously helpful if all measures nationwide came from a single source, so that companies like ours which operate all over Germany can implement them successfully. If we don\u2019t significantly pick up the pace on all these issues, we will feel the effects not only at Germany\u2019s airports. We will have to adapt our lives to this new normal \u2013 and, in this case, that\u2019s a bleak proposition.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Yours Christopher Ranft<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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About:<\/h2>

\n Christopher Ranft <\/p>\n\n

Head of Talent Acquisition<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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About REWE Group<\/h2> <\/div>\n
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    The cooperatively organized REWE Group is one of the leading trade and tourism groups in Germany and Europe. In 2024, the company generated a total external turnover of more than 96 billion euros. Founded in 1927, REWE Group operates with around 380,000 employees in 21 European countries.<\/p>\n

    The sales lines include REWE, REWE CENTER, nahkauf and BILLA as well as BILLA PLUS and ADEG supermarkets and consumer stores, the discounter PENNY, IKI, the drugstores BIPA and the toom Baumarkt DIY stores. The company also operates convenience stores REWE To Go and the e-commerce activities REWE Liefer- and Abholservice as well as Zooroyal and Weinfreunde. The Lekkerland Group comprises the wholesale activities of the business group in the area of on-the-go consumption. Under the umbrella of DERTOUR Group, the Travel and Tourism division includes more than 2,000 travel agencies, tour operators as well as hotel brands and online travel portals.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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      Christopher Ranft, head of Recruiting, on the challenges of the enormous labour shortage and the potential of economic immigration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":17616,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","nl_adhoc_sent":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"focus_theme":[142],"class_list":["post-18528","opinion","type-opinion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy","focus_theme-undefined"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/opinion\/18528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/opinion"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/opinion"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/opinion\/18528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18584,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/opinion\/18528\/revisions\/18584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18528"},{"taxonomy":"focus_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rewe-group.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/focus_theme?post=18528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}