The German labour market has been coping with a shortage of talent for years. Despite institutional encouragement to recruit professionals from abroad, there is still room for improvement when taking advantage of the international talent already settled in Germany. Based on the Expats & Spouses Monitor findings, this article showcases the richness of highly qualified internationals and some of the difficulties they face when searching for a job and integrating in Germany.

Expatriates are entrepreneurs by nature. Regardless of whether they start a new company or have a corporate job, expats are forced to master precisely the skill set that starting up a business requires.

The Expats & Spouses Monitor is a research project created for expats by expats. We aim to shed light on different aspects of expats life in Germany to create awareness about the challenges they face and promote international talent integration. We have collected the experiences of 864 expats from 88 nationalities living in 144 German cities.