Kenya and Germany explore labour migration sdolutions amid demand for skilled workers
Kenya and Germany explore labour migration sdolutions amid demand for skilled workers
Kenya and Germany have intensified discussions on labour mobility, seeking to align Kenya’s growing skilled professionals with Germany’s labour market needs as part of a broader bilateral migration and human resource development framework.
The talks were held in Germany on Tuesday, January 27, between Irene Karari, Director for Skills and Expertise at Kenya’s State Department for Diaspora Affairs (SDDA), and Hans-Eckhard Sommer, President of Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
Karari outlined Kenya’s strategic priorities, highlighting the country’s highly trained talent in critical sectors such as healthcare, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), engineering, hospitality, and technical trades. She said Kenya is positioning its workforce to meet international labour standards and contribute to global labour markets.
She further reaffirmed the SDDA’s commitment to a rights-based migration approach, emphasising the protection, engagement, and prosperity of Kenyans working abroad through a well-coordinated migration system.
Sommer, on his part, stressed that German language proficiency remains a key requirement for successful labour migration and long-term integration.
He detailed Germany’s support infrastructure for migrants, including federal funding of integration courses and specialised vocational language programmes tailored to specific professions and recognition procedures.
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He noted that the system is designed to match actual labour market needs, ensuring migrants are better prepared for employment and integration.
Kenya and Germany agreed on the need to address capacity gaps and strengthen targeted vocational language training.
The meeting also explored the development of tailored solutions under the bilateral labour migration cooperation framework.
The engagement marks a deepening of Kenya–Germany cooperation on migration governance, skills development, and structured labour mobility pathways, amid growing demand for skilled workers in Europe.
Over the recent years, the Kenyan workforce in Germany has rapidly grown. It has been influenced by a comprehensive migration and mobility partnership agreement signed between the two countries in September 2024.
The agreement aimed to facilitate legal migration for up to 250,000 skilled and semi-skilled workers, which aimed to address Germany’s labour shortage. It primarily focused on healthcare, engineering, transportation, IT and hospitality industries.
According to recent reports, Germany has over 15,000 registered Kenyans as of late 2024. Apart from the skills necessary to get a job in Germany, German language proficiency remains a critical requirement for most roles, especially in healthcare and technical sectors.
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