Months ago.....you could tell that the German economy had quickly paced itself to come out of recent economic mess. They had made a number of decisions....some simply by long-term planning and some simply by luck. So they emerged ahead of most of Europe. They had this window of opportunity. Business and export went onto turbo stage. What Germany came to discover....was that they actually needed more manpower....smart folks, individuals with engineering talents, and scientists.
There was a great article this week by the New York Times discussing the matter. German companies got smart and started to recruit unemployed engineers and such.....from neighboring countries that had a ten-percent or better unemployment rate. They didn't care about the language difference or cultural shock. And the unemployed engineers didn't refuse the deal.
The numbers involved? Well....the statistics aren't that clear, but one would figure there's around 100k or more individuals involved in this turbo mode.
How long does this last? That's a question that the Times didn't answer, but it would be an interesting question to think about. My humble opinion is that we are looking at a five-year period....where most of European is in a screwed-up economic stage and recovery for most not coming until 2018. Eventually, there might be 500k "guests" in Germany. So you have to ponder.....if a Spanish engineer stays around five years and really likes the conditions....would he even leave when Spain recovered and asked him back. Maybe not.
You don't get attached to some place in twenty-four months and agree to stay on. Somewhere after four years.....you've gotten yourself usually into a boat-anchor situation. You like the local town. You have your favorite barber. You know the best restaurants. You know the company strategy. You start to feel it's all nice and comfy.
There's a fundamental shift in business and manufacturing going on. Germany has found this window of opportunity and making maximum use out of it. They have smart folks from all over European to their cities. I hate using the word unplanned technology renaissance period....but they end up with a secondary period behind the recovery period for Europe....where their companies are developing all kinds of technology.
There's an advantage being put together here, and you have to wonder where it carries Germany.
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