German industry heads call for easing of immigration rules

Top representatives of the business community are calling for less restrictive immigration rules as a way to address the growing shortage of skilled workers in Germany.
"We have great difficulties growing companies in Germany because we simply lack skilled workers," Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) President Peter Adrian told dpa.
The secretary general of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts, Holger Schwannecke, told dpa that there are currently around 250,000 vacancies in his sector alone.
"We urgently need skilled workers, and we have to recruit them primarily through domestic training and by leveraging all domestic potential, but also through skilled labour immigration," Schwannecke said.
"There are still many hurdles on the path of skilled labour immigration," Adrian said.
Schwannecke said, "It takes a long time for visas, the consulates are overloaded ... and it is also not helpful that we don't have a welcoming culture for skilled workers."