Germany looks to Mexico to help tackle nursing-care crisis – DW (English)

German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Saturday appealed to Mexican care workers to consider moving to Germany to work.

Spahn traveled to Mexico City last week as part of a recruitment drive aimed atredressinga shortage of nursing and ancillary staff in German care homes.

In a video posted to Twitter, he said the trip was about "helping to speed up the process by which nurses from Mexico can come to Germany."

He said visa procedures and the recognition of professional qualifications would be accelerated for qualified Mexican staff.

Read more:Conflicts grow in German care sector as more foreign workers come

The minister also met with 15 representatives of local training institutes and invited them to visit Germany to familiarize themselves with the German care system and recruit Mexican workers.

Sector shunned by workers

Germany's care sector is deeply unattractive for many domestic workers due to low wages, overworkandreports of mistreatment of staff and patients. The industry relies on thousands of foreign workers.

Read more:Nursing home abuse in Germany: 'I can't let my mother die of thirst'

Spahn said there were currently 50,000 to 80,000 vacancies in care homes and hospitals.

DW reported in January that the care sector was struggling to fill some 38,000 posts and that for every 100 vacant positions there were only 26 unemployed skilled workers on the market.

The German government hasset a targetto find 10% more trainees for the sector by 2023. Earlier this year, it tasked several ministries with addressing the shortage, prompting high-profile visits to countriessuch as Kosovo and the Philippines this summer.

Read more:Singapore 'maids for sale' ad sparks investigation

Aging population spurs action

Resolving the issue has become particularly urgent as the number of people who need care is expected to rise dramaticallyin the coming decades: from the 3.3 million in 2017to 4 million by 2030, and 5.3 million by 2050, according to official government projections.

The shortagepersists despite Germany's population growing by more than 2 million since2015, mostly as a result of Europe'smigrant crisis, which sawlarge numbers of people crossthe Mediterranean to seeka new life in Europe's largest economy.

mm/jlw (AFP, dpa)

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Germany looks to Mexico to help tackle nursing-care crisis - DW (English)

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