Background and objectives

The BQ-Portal contributes to securing a skilled workforce in Germany

Even today, Germany is already feeling the effects of demographic change, and this presents companies with significant challenges: according to studies conducted by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW), Germany is currently experiencing a shortage of some 123,600 qualified professionals in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics (August 2014) – 50,800 of those in the occupations of the vocational training field. As a result of falling population figures, this number is set to rise significantly in the coming years, especially for qualified professionals who have completed their vocational training. This is why it is even more important to make the best possible use of the potential available:

To make sure that all qualified professionals resident in Germany have the opportunity to work in a job they are qualified for, it is necessary to compare their qualifications to German reference professions. This is where the BQ-Portal comes in: it consolidates all relevant information and expertise about foreign professional qualifications, vocational training systems and equivalence assessments in one platform.

Recognition of qualifications is key

Integration can only be successful if it is possible to compare foreign professional qualifications with their German counterparts. A study by the Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ) at the University of Duisburg/Essen supports this: it found that recipients of social welfare or unemployment benefits whose foreign qualifications were recognised in Germany were 50% more likely to find employment than those whose qualifications were not recognised.