As elderly staff members retire and young candidates move to other sectors and roles, Germany has been facing a shortage of skilled workers so dire that the country is trying to alleviate the problem by calling for help outside its own borders. About 6,000km away from the mainland, in India. The movement began when Handrik von Ungern-Sternberg, received an email from an Indian employment agency, Magic Billion, in February 2021, offering candidates for vocational training from the country. “We have lots of young, motivated people looking for vocational training and we’re wondering if you’re interested,” it read.The email arrived at the perfect time. Back then, Von Ungern-Sternberg, was working for the Freiburg Chamber of Skilled Crafts in southwest Germany, a trade body that represents skilled workers from bricklayers and carpenters to butchers and bakers along with companies that employ them. “We had a lot of desperate employers, who couldn’t find anyone to work for them,” said Von Ungern-Sternberg to the BBC. “So we decided to give it a chance.“He contacted the head of the local butchers’ guild since the sector was facing a decline in workers across the country, along with numerous other traditional German trades. While there were 19,000 small family-run businesses in 2002, there were fewer than 11,000 left by 2021. Joachim Lederer, revealed how it was difficult to recruit young people since the butchery trade is “hard work” and for the past 25 years or so, young people were going in other directions. The partnership has evolved from a pilot of 13 apprentices arriving in 2022 into a massive economic pipeline. Over the years, Von Ungern-Sternberg who set up his own employment agency India Works, has helped bring 200 young Indians to work at butchers’ shops in Germany. The movement of workers into the country is more of a need than a want at the moment as Germany is facing a crisis of demographics. As the baby boomers head into retirement, the lack of a young demographic is making itself known, due to a low birth rate. However, India on the other hand has a labour surplus. “India is a country with 600 million people below the age of 25,” said Aditi Banerjee of Magic Billion to the outlet. “Only 12 million come into the workforce every year. So there’s a huge labour surplus.”According to a 2024 study by Bertelsmann Foundation think tank, the economy needs to attract 288,000 foreign workers annually or its workforce could decrease by 10% by 2040. In 2026, India Works is expecting to bring 775 young Indians to Germany for apprenticeships. This time there will be road builders, mechanics, stonemasons and bakers with others. The movement of Indian skilled workers to Germany has been easier ever since the two countries signed the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement in 2022. In 2024, the country announced it would be increasing the skilled worker visa quota for Indian nationals from 20,000 to 90,000 annually. As per a January 2026 study by German-language business newspaper Handelsblatt, the Indian workers in the country earned around 29% more than their German counterparts in 2024. Indian employees recorded a median gross monthly income of €5,393 (Rs 568,900), compared with €4,177 (Rs 434,000) for German workers. This is one of the reasons why the workers are attracted to moving to the country, along with the high unemployment rate back home. “We have high wages here,” said Ishu Gariya, a 20-year-old high school graduate working as a baker’s apprentice. “So I’ll be able to help my family [back home] financially.”For Ajay Kumar Chandapaka, a 25-year-old from Hyderabad with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, it would be “difficult” for him to get a job in India and thus he thought that the apprenticeship would be a “better role” for him. The two-way street of economic survival and personal opportunities seems to be the new blueprint for Germany’s lucrative future. While Indians benefit from employment opportunities and high wages, Germans are able to maintain functioning in their depleting sectors. “When I started out 35 years there were eight shops like mine within a 10km radius,” said Lederer. “Now I’m the only one left. I wouldn’t be in business today without India.“
