Germany is grappling with a significant shortage of skilled workers as a wave of retirements among older employees coincides with a scarcity of young candidates to fill their roles. This demographic challenge, driven by a low birth rate and an aging population, threatens the country’s economic stability and workforce sustainability. To address this pressing issue, Germany is increasingly turning to international sources of talent, with India emerging as a key partner in supplying motivated, skilled young workers eager to pursue vocational training and apprenticeships in the country.
The story of this growing cooperation began in early 2021 when Handirk von Ungern-Sternberg, then working for the Freiburg Chamber of Skilled Crafts in southwest Germany, received an unexpected email from India. The message came from Magic Billion, an Indian employment agency, offering a pool of enthusiastic young people interested in vocational training opportunities in Germany. At the time, von Ungern-Sternberg was well aware of the dire situation facing many local employers struggling to find apprentices. The timing of the email was fortuitous.
Germany’s skilled trades, represented by organizations like the Freiburg Chamber, encompass a wide range of professions—from bricklayers and carpenters to butchers and bakers. Among these, the butchery trade had been in sharp decline for decades. The number of small, family-run butcher shops had dropped from 19,000 in 2002 to less than 11,000 by 2021. Employers found it increasingly difficult to attract young apprentices to a physically demanding profession that many young Germans were choosing to avoid.
Joachim Lederer, head of the local butchers’ guild, explains that the hard labor involved in butchery, combined with shifting career interests among younger generations, has contributed to the decline. When von Ungern-Sternberg contacted Lederer, they decided to take a chance on the offer from India.
Magic Billion successfully recruited 13 young Indians who arrived in Germany in the autumn of 2022 to begin their apprenticeships as butchers in small towns near the Swiss border. These apprentices spent part of their training at college, combining practical work with classroom learning. Among them was a 21-year-old woman who had never left India before. She spoke of her excitement at the opportunity to explore the world, improve her living standards, and gain access to better social security benefits.
This initial success laid the groundwork for broader collaboration. Von Ungern-Sternberg left the chamber to co-found his own employment agency, India Works, partnering with Aditi Banerjee from Magic Billion. Their goal was to scale up the recruitment of young Indian workers to fill skilled labor shortages across Germany. From the original group of 13 butchers, the number has now grown to 200 Indian apprentices working in German butchers’ shops.
Germany’s demographic crisis is stark. According to a 2024 study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, the country needs to attract 288,000 foreign workers annually to prevent its workforce from shrinking by 10% by 2040. The retirement of the baby boomer generation, combined with persistently low birth rates, means that domestic supply cannot meet demand. Meanwhile, India offers a vast labor pool: over 600 million people are under the age of 25, and approximately 12 million enter the workforce each year, many of whom face limited job opportunities locally.
India Works plans to bring 775 young Indians to Germany this year to begin apprenticeships across diverse skilled trades, including road building, mechanics, stonemasonry, and baking. The partnership between the two countries has been strengthened by the 2022 Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement, which has simplified the process for Indian workers to obtain visas and work permits. In a further boost, Germany announced in late 2024 that it would increase its skilled work visa quota for Indian citizens from 20,000 to 90,000 per year.
Official data underscore this trend. In 2024, there were 136,670 Indian workers in Germany, a significant rise from just 23,320 in 2015. The influx reflects not only Germany’s demand but also the aspirations of young Indians looking for better economic prospects abroad.
Many Indian apprentices express similar reasons for making the move. Ishu Gariya, 20, left a suburb of Delhi to become a baker’s apprentice in a village in the Black Forest region of Germany. He had considered pursuing a university degree in computer science but was deterred by concerns about the cost and the low