Our annual company day, "Finding and Retaining Foreign Skilled Workers," took place this year on November 12, 2025, in Lutherstadt Wittenberg. The company day is an event organized by the Welcome Culture and Skilled Worker Recruitment Network and is organized by the WelcomeCenter Saxony-Anhalt. Around 80 regional companies and network partners gathered at the Piesteritzer Hof to discuss how to attractskilled workers from abroad and integrate them sustainably.
Stefanie Schmidt-Pforte from the Halle-Dessau Chamber of Industry and Commerce moderated the event. After a welcome by District Administrator Christian Tylsch, Fabian Semsarha from the Competence Center for Securing Skilled Workers (KOFA) presented current data and facts on the skilled worker situation in the Wittenberg district and the region. Among other things, he showed that employment growth in Saxony-Anhalt is already being driven by immigrants: due to demographic change, the number of employees with German citizenship is declining, while people with other nationalities are showing rising employment figures (Semsarha et al., 2024). In addition, in the Saxony-Anhalt East employment agency district, there are no suitably qualified unemployed persons available for a good half of the vacant positions (see KOFA state profile for Saxony-Anhalt). KOFA therefore recommends that employers take an active stance and make their presence felt, diversify their recruitment strategies as much as possible, and, in addition to searching for trainees and skilled workers, invest in their long-term retention and further training.
This was followed by an interview with Manuel Sandau, head of the Foreigners' Affairs Department in the district of Wittenberg. He named the areas in which there is a particularly high demand for skilled workers in the district: skilled trades, tourism, medicine (especially nursing), and agriculture. Even if some skilled workers recruited abroad did not receive recognition for their foreign qualifications, there were many good opportunities for retraining and other support services for people without recognized qualifications in the region. He also showed understanding for the fact that the accelerated skilled worker procedure can be bureaucratic and therefore daunting for companies – but that is exactly what the immigration office is there for, to guide employers through the process. Mr. Sandau also praised the success of the right of residence for opportunities, which has enabled numerous tolerated persons in the district to obtain regular residence and jobs.
The second part of the event was open to participants for an open exchange. In four experience corners on the topics of recruitment, language, qualification, and welcoming culture, interested companies engaged in conversation with experts from counseling centers, educational institutions, authorities, and other companies.
We have compiled comprehensive information on the accelerated skilled worker procedure, including contact details for the relevant immigration authorities, on the linked page. Further background information on skilled worker immigration can also be found in our information center.
