IZA Tower Talk - Report

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Federal Migration Commissioner Marieluise Beck at IZA Tower Talk:
Educational and labor market integration of immigrants must be improved

At the 10th IZA Tower Talk on August 23, 2005, the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration, Marieluise Beck, MP (Green Party) delivered a speech on the topic “Integration Policy Is Modernization Policy”. She emphasized the need to eliminate the historically developed shortfalls of German immigration and integration policies. In view of the impending demographic changes, Germany ought to have a substantial self-interest in improving its ways to control immigration and, most importantly, in realizing a long-term integration policy. Beck attributed a central role to the education system, which should enable young immigrants “to catch up on education und training.” In order to remove the serious disadvantages still experienced by immigrants, pre-school education and improved language acquisition should receive a larger weight. So far, Germany has negligently failed to utilize the full potential of young immigrants.
In this context, the migration commissioner criticized the deficits of the immigration law finally enacted in the beginning of 2005. Apart from the short-sighted rejection of a “point system” to select immigrants and the high entry barriers for foreign investors and entrepreneurs, Beck deplored the work permit regulations for foreign students living in Germany: Employers are only allowed to hire foreign university graduates in the absence of native job applicants. According to Beck, it would be in Germany’s best interest to replace this protectionist policy with a substantially easier labor market entry for foreign graduates.
Beck applauded the growing interest among immigrants in Germany to participate in the language and integration courses that have been established in accordance with the new immigration law. This great response proves all those wrong who accuse immigrants of lacking the willingness to learn German, she said. Beck also drew hope from the efforts initiated in the wake of the PISA Study to improve the pre-school integration of immigrants. She warned, however, that many years of hard work will be necessary to make up for the omissions of the past. The success of an improved integration policy will ultimately hinge on its ability to overcome the prejudices that still exist among the native population. In light of these prejudices, Hilmar Schneider, IZA Director of Labor Policy, called for a stronger focus on economic aspects in shaping immigration policy and convincing the native population of the need for immigration. After all, only an enhanced public awareness of the social benefits of controlled immigration and consistent integration will generate widespread acceptance of immigration. Commissioner Beck agreed that the issue of immigration “must be placed at the center of society.”