CROSSING BORDERS

Spain and Germany have more in common than most people think. Spain has made the most of the opportunities offered by EU membership. The country has invested a large amount of money in education, infrastructure and new industries.

Today, Spain is going through an economic crisis. Numerous international companies have scaled back their involvement in the country in recent years, creating an abundance of extremely well qualified employees looking for work.

Should we encourage Spanish engineers to come to Germany? When there is a lack of good engineers in Germany and, at the same time, good engineers are unemployed in Spain, there can be only one outcome, as no one can afford to leave their professional training and experience idle for years. Everyone has to feed his or her own family. And no company should leave positions permanently vacant.

Spanish engineers who establish themselves in Germany can maintain and consolidate their qualifications. Should they want to return to their home country one day, they will take valuable experience back with them.

One further reason: if someone with top qualifications decides to leave their homeland for new perspectives, their motivation and commitment is put to the test. How would the USA have developed without the vision and courage of the European immigrants who took with them a high level of commitment and many new ideas?