Tag Archives: FAQ

No People, Why Cry?

Aside

No People, why cry? (NPWC)

Being invited, I followed the interesting sounds expressed in a personal written invitation of an organism in F-Strasbourg, and visited therefore the IT and Business trade show held this month in the capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Stuttgart City, on its local medium sized airport, there. Thus, reporting about the following news in Strasbourg and here for you in this article, I should admit that I am still impressed and attracted by the hidden company’s news and the words of its CEO.

“The mint company will grow faster due to the fact of more than 63.000 jobs published in our database, created only for the German industry”, the new CEO whispered. It offers more than a thread to the European states and worldwide, which is appreciated in Strasbourg City not as a good story. So, regarding the economical facts of an ongoing immigration towards richer nations or overseas, this is unpopular news.

There seem to be not enough people on the markets that cause lots of cries! The job stories continue to hit also other states in Central Europe and also in other parts of the world. The fact that nobody can’t be found, this news stands for no deletion of offered jobs in the relevant data bases.

However, the right people can quit their jobs earlier in order to get better paid offers, which participate fully to their next steps of IT careers. As a result, the balance of required talents remains even worse. IT teachers, which are normally hired by the states, shall be hired by the IT industries, with eventually double salaries or more. This is one result due to the high demand for IT experts in Stuttgart. If these specialized teachers would be ready to move to Switzerland, there would be other categories necessary to earn their living there.

Thus, it is not a surprise that only a few of the French companies wanted to know more about some of the background information behind this unbelievable story: recruiters there fear more immigration towards richer countries with higher IT standards, being located opposite to Alsace in Eastern France or by using the Euro-Channel in Calais-Dover.

Pessimistic Outlook for the MINT industries

How to overcome a still increasing bottleneck of missing talent urgently needed in the IT industries? The short-term forecast of a possible increase for the very near future excels a higher demand for skilled IT workers: 8 per cent was announced on the IT convention in Stuttgart. And the normal increase might be lower than 3 per cent in that period of time of approximately 5 years, especially with the actually increasing immigration trends.

How come that recruiting in this sector seems to be so tough?

Is it another reaction describing by the German wordings of ‘the voices echoed from the woods’? One of the easy understandable answers might be the skills shortage in language learning. It seems to be due to the more difficult grammar of the German language, I hear teachers shout.

Therefore, the multi-cultural experienced engineers – ladies first – are always welcome. And the good news is: Solutions were recently found in Sweden by researchers of the Stockholm University in field research on trade shows and in schools and on Campus: 40+ percent better result.

Male and female IT engineers, focusing on better living conditions, their strong desire should be the wish to master the basic challenges here: managing to create highly skilled academic-potentials and continue working in high loyalty within the IT industries: their long-term aim! However, and this it is surprising, candidates arriving here with bachelor and master diplomas, do actively show ‘normal weakness’ such as not having eventually invested enough time in studying abroad: why did they miss Erasmus programs or similar programs overseas?

As a result, unable to speak fluently in at least 2 of 3 world languages – Arab, English, or Spanish – or many more besides the German language, the lack of communication skills and special language knowledge are the main handicap to enter new markets and countries, the team leader of that Swedish research project published on the 2015 IT convention.

Prejudices to learn some of those seldom spoken languages – the German language is not that complicated: Grammar in Poland or writing words in Mandarin are more difficult due to a high percentage of English vocabulary, which was installed smoothly after WW2 here.

This news does not help Germans companies to recruit enough people for the moment and the slogan “no people, no cries”, let me ask a question publicly…: Is German too difficult, maybe worse than learning Chinese and what is the percentage of students learning German now, outside in its’ neighbouring universities in France, England, or Poland?

Regarding German companies in Shanghai – already 210.000 Germans have been immigrating to China – living there for years, try to recruit from European sources the bachelor or master students from Asia Pacific, willing to come home and to support their own country.

The negative effects of getting uprooted in their European studies, the roots in mainland China will be cut instantly. Thus, not only frustrated a bit about the lost chances to get one of the good paid jobs in Europe when the Visa are not extended, this results let them hope to get upgraded in mainland China. The reality is so different.

You can see it in the streets of the metropolitan City of Shanghai on job fairs held in the German Centre or on special events for millions of local students. The Chinese students are regarded as foreigners (guiqiao), when they had been living at least 6 to 8 years abroad.

Their attitudes do not match to the local students who try to get just assistant jobs of young professional. The ‘Gui Qiao’ (pinyin: Foreign Chinese coming home) are regarded as to expensive (similar sound of ‘gui’), and to some extent as aliens due to the different cultural background experiences.

Actually their real problems are the following: actively they do not match the needs of German companies in Asia, as a matter of fact of avoiding communicating within German networks outside China and then in China not in new German-Chinese networks, too. They seem not to be skilled enough to speak fluently in British and/or American English so that their applications are not successful.

Some details are described from my own experiences seen in the German Center, regarding the achieved German language levels, they avoid basic grammar problems such as “der / die / das Fachkra(e)ft(e)-… combined with a second word like the potential (German: the potential expert). It seems to the salient thinking in categories related to the European language standards from A to C, hence, from A1 to B3 in German or C1 or higher in Business English (BE), enabling them to pass the DAF tests or the next exams.

What a sad reality to mention here: some of them are still unable to present ideas or a personal pitch in the unique way of life in up to 55 countries worldwide, in just-in-time manners: 1, 2, 3, German! PLEASE IN ENGLISH! Well done, you might have been hired… as a MBA in two years studying abroad again…

Back from the little excursion from Asia, the experts in Europe, arriving from Stockholm on the IT convention, report that two years of research works have revealed much better learning results when the learning conditions were changed.

So, when people start to re-think “how to learn languages faster and better”, it can be developed with IT software with the aim to do it smoothly: highly efficient schools in Sweden do so.

We are waiting to read some written reviews from the IT convention there to mention here, if possible, some link or hint for possible downloads.

Finally, the surprise was a big one. One invited HR manager, of a global leader in car manufacturing, urged there on the stage of the IT convention: ‘European talents as the future applicants must be able to speak German properly’ especially inside the enterprise network. This caused a lot of questions from the audience. I don’t know how it works in US car companies…

Reflecting, why are meetings held worldwide by their huge group outside of Germany only in English due to their role as a player in a leading export nation: Germany international… some of the answers to FAQs (raised by the loyal audience, remaining there until the last round), were not formulated well enough to believe that German should be a language in international businesses.

And, it is that fact that obliges the applicants to communicate and perfectly present their products in Business English or French, but not German, this is what HR people still think after the IT convention, not daring to shout their opinions publicly, reporting some of the voices.

So, why do skilled talents should be able to speak the German language? This is what the IT convent and its keynote speakers claimed altogether in one team: change it rapidly and underline the needs to re-qualify the German staff in extra courses like ‘in-house communication’. This will improve progressively multilingual levels in global enterprises. So the experts say: “This aim is worth to go.” Do it now, or never!”

Finally, the skills shortage should not double again: its figures will rise from 63.000 job vacancies to more than 120.000 in the year 2020.

Consequences and reactions

Reflecting what were the answers of round about one thousand visitors in the Convention Center in Strasbourg? “This is a surprise, we would not be glad, if the French people engineers got used to talk the language of our neighbour. It would be better if they insist on learning Spanish or Japanese… Therefore, still unable to explore the worlds in Great Britain, England and Germany for a while, “they could compete on IT markets in Stuttgart and leave our country, too” one smart HR recruiting agency assistant said to me, when I left with her silent voice. “So, the salaries can remain on lower levels, made for more people, and more social… ” This is a trend worldwide.

The consequences of the ongoing brain drain hits European intelligence which is still immigrating to California’s Silicon Valley. Attracted by plenty of choices in that global player’s multilingual enterprises, this is what they like. The shouted: “That’s hip!”

Go Us Asia…

Serendipity

Aside

Serendipity in… Why not in Woolloomooloo?

Recently I met a brilliant Bachelor student. Her name is Leah. She lived in the EU and was on her way to the next airport in Switzerland (a none-EU country). Leah taught me that she would like to finish her studies quickly, but a missing service urged her to prolong the studies by one semester.

Why longer and not smarter studies?

Leah continued: “It would be quite functional and a helpful tool for successful students worldwide, not only for that kind of elite generation… Ambitious and talented, skilled human resources choose to study often at elite universities. Thus, driven by the salient motivation to hand in good results and always focusing to be faster and better, this includes therefore passing the exams just-in-time.”

However, aware of the necessity to communicate fluently, not only in Business English, French, (Switzerland) German and Italian – a standard in the Metropolitan Upper Rhine Region (MURR) – the increased values of seldom spoken languages motivate students like Leah to improve language skills overseas.

Leah, planning to leave Europe, had to request for the official agreement: “kindly accept the prolongation of the official number of six semesters to seven, just to pass one single test.

As a result, the surprising question came up in the fast running train: “Why not passing the procedures in a few days, far away in another country with different time zones, for example in Woolloomooloo?”

Located in and on a beautiful country or big island, direct flights take more than 12 hours from Eastern France / Switzerland. And, the local universities there are perfectly well equipped – high ranking worldwide.

So what’s the quick solution for a short time frame in the next months?

Finally, I don’t know yet, if the administration of the university will agree on Leah’s individual request; thus, it would be smart, if future universities – in general – could offer that kind of innovative e-cabins-test-centers where students could log into a video surveyed room with a special code and transfer the right answers to the test questions in safe digital modes resembling to existing formats (eventually similar to a global standards like the Printable Document Format).

When leaving the fast running train, Leah agreed with us: This idea isn’t a revolutionary idea. Already, frequently used at court, it became quite normal. Testimonies are broadcast via video sessions and provided electronically.

Time is money! So, just do it, why not?

Socializing and sharing here this interesting business opportunity in co-operation with Leah, all those lovers of languages and curious researchers would be happy, due to their trend to invest energies abroad. Their wish to get more support from their universities in order to enrich the Curriculum vitae (CV) with practical skills is preferred by companies and helps to overcome the weaknesses of too long and outdated CVs.

But, is this idea really applicable? Will the quality of short-term communication improve?

Leah and us, we hope to read some critical voices here, why this fresh brainstorming idea might not work, does it? Leah asks: “Please tell us, where the error is or what were the problems with this request? Thanks for your attention and the esteemed time.

Hong Kong – Germany – Greece and the Americas / United States of America (USA)