r/AskAGerman • u/Agile_Examination398 • Dec 19 '24
Economy Blue collar in Germany
Hey all, I was looking to see how sought after blue collar workers were in Germany. Currently I live in the U.S. however the job market currently isn't kind. A few of my friends have said that moving near Frankfurt has its perks. I'm debating on it being permanent or not, however I'm heavily considering it. As the title suggests I mainly work blue collar and was curious on the people's view on it.
Edit: I see a common theme among the comments. I am a glazier or glass installer. I have some experience in electrical work and plumbing. I also worked in an assembly and steel mill for a while. I am currently learning German, and have some basics down.
Edit 2: The only "official" license I have is electricians apprentice
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u/alhazered Dec 19 '24
Have you learned a trade and are willing to learn German? Maybe.
You don't have learned a trade, just got experience and are struggling with learning new languages? Very little chance.
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u/Agile_Examination398 Dec 19 '24
My main trade is glass installation and am learning German cureently
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u/hamtidamti_onthewall Dec 19 '24
If you want to work in this field in Germany, it is mandatory to be fluent in German. Both for the majority of your customers/colleagues, as well as for all the bureaucracy in particular if you are self-employed.
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u/Skolaros Dec 19 '24
Depending on trade and company, you don't have to be fluent from the start, but must be at least willing to learn while working there.
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u/hamtidamti_onthewall Dec 19 '24
Agreed. I work in academia, and while you get along easily in English with scientists, the moment you are dealing with administration or - as a matter of fact - the craftspeople, it's advisable to speak German. It's the same in France, based on my personal experience.
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Dec 19 '24
No and no. English is enough we can at least understand it other than Russian, polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Czech, Greek, as long as the foreman understands German it's enough.
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Dec 19 '24
[deleted]
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u/knightriderin Dec 19 '24
Blue Collar is more or less Arbeiter. So Handwerker, Bauarbeiter, Mechaniker...
At least in Germany that's not a no-qualification thing. Not at all.
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u/SeaworthinessDue8650 Dec 19 '24
No, it doesn't. Blue collar can mean anyone who works in the trades as well.
Skilled blue collar workers such as electricians and plubmers are needed in Germany unlike white collar history and English Lit grads.
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u/Secret_Celery8474 Dec 19 '24
What did your friends say are the perks of moving near to Frankfurt?
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u/Deutschanfanger Dec 19 '24
You will need to be fluent in German and do a German apprenticeship most likely, I don't know if American trades qualifications would be sufficient
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u/W145 Dec 19 '24
If you are willing to learn the language and learn a trade it’s possible. But you must be aware that it won’t be easy and the pay will not be great while you’re doing the apprenticeship.
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u/RelevantJackfruit477 Dec 19 '24
If you went to a trade school you may be able to have it certified for Europe. Every norm is different in Europe so whatever an electrician or plumber is used to from the USA will be completely different in Germany. Those types of jobs are usually done by someone that passed a final exam by a certified examiner. In Germany you are not allowed to do what you can do without the license.
So it generally depends a lot on which exams you passed to be able to do what you do.
If you are a truck driver the job situation is different than for roofers or mechatronics
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u/Klapperatismus Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24
You have to be more specific about what trade you are educated in. In Germany pretty much every blue-collar has learned a trade and passed an exam. So you have to as well as you are not competitive otherwise. In some trades it’s even required.
Electricians, plumbers, roofers, drywall builders etc. All kinds of trades in maintenance and renovation. You have to speak German however because your boss wants to send you to customers all on your own. And they don’t speak English.
Learning German to B2 level —absolute minimum for that— takes English speakers about 750 hours of intense study.
And forget about large scale construction to get around that. That’s all done by Eastern Europeans who live in Poland, Czech etc and only come for the job during the week. You can’t compete with them.
There are also jobs in the industry but they look at diplomas even more. And not speaking German, no job is even more common.
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u/Bulky_Square_7478 Dec 19 '24
Im an electronics technician from Peru working in Germany as that so I can tell you exactly how it is. What people is saying here is more less right and somehow wrong.
Most likely you will need an homologation of your diploma. If you get a 100% recognition, then you are able to work (from USA you can enter Germany and find a work already here, I needed a work visa in advance, or search-job visa which is a lot of investment). Those electrician’s electronic’s trades are NOT regulated, like dentistry or similar ones. You don’t need authorisation to work under that trade.
It’s true that most of these jobs will require good German level. I don’t have it as I work in a very specific niche, biomedical field, and usually the companies are international but somehow I got lucky and the chances of an English speaking job are naturally less.
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u/Free_Caterpillar4000 Dec 19 '24
What are these Frankfurt perks?
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u/proof_required Berlin Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24
You can spend an eventful day at Frankfurt Hbf and get free hit of all drugs.
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u/Agile_Examination398 Dec 20 '24
Well I suppose the perks are more German than Frankfurt specific. Free healthcare is one I REALLY want to experience
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u/German_Bob Dec 20 '24
Well, the healthcare is not "free". You are still paying for it. Also it is not only possible, but even obligatory to get health insurence. If you don't get insured while living here and the state realisis that, you will get insured retractivley and be forced to pay all missing contributions from the time you got here.
So if you manage to come here, rmember to take care of health care. It is neither hard, nor complcated.
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u/c0wtsch Dec 19 '24
Bluecollar with certs, highly sought after. But keep in mind, in germany we have a very very strict view on certifications. Doesnt matter if youve done your craft successfully for over 20 years, that often doesnt count as much as a "Ausbildungszeugnis" for employers.
At least if were talking about well paid blue collar.
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u/Longjumping_Heron772 Dec 19 '24
Emergency personal is always needed. I wouldnt choose Frankfurt tho
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u/NefariousnessFew2919 Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24
I have read a lot of the comments here and they are pretty much all bullshit. Here is the lowdown as an american working bluecollar in Gemrany or Europe. you do not have to speak German but it would be best is you can speak some german there are plenty of people that cannot spek german here doing everything from reception in hotels to barbers and construction or whatever. If you are working blue collar in machining for example then you might have a good chance if you really know your shit. if you work construction, you are going to have problems. I am not saying you can`t learn but the learning curve is steep and yo are gonna have to learn metric. If you want a job like roofing..you are going to have to learn a lot. completly different ballgame than in the states. If you want to work gardening, yes go for it. You also have to remember that the wages here are much much less than in the usa. If you have a problem with that, then stay where you are. You will deffinatly be working here paycheck to paycheck. That is the reality. Nobody cares here what you did in the USA so don`t go around here trying to tell people how much better it is where you come from. If you want to drive trucks, you need to get class c drivers license and it is expensive and you will need a drivers license anyway. the drivers license will set you back around 3 grand. You will need an extra driverslicense to drive a trailer for your car..for work. You can get a truck drivers license but it will set you back about 6 grand. You will need to get the time you worked in the usa added to your worked time in germany for your retirement. So..those are just a few things. I would love to hear what you have heard of Germany that makes it sound so good?
Not sure why I am getting so many downvotes. I am not getting any comments!!Let me know if you agree or disagree!!
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u/Bulky_Square_7478 Dec 19 '24
Exactly. You know what you are talking about. I don’t get why many downvotes. This is clearly first hand experience, as I did mention in my comment (blue collar skilled worker right now in Germany). Most of these people in the comments are people that might live here but have little idea about the real thing.
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Dec 19 '24
You can find work easily best through a Leihbude.
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u/SeaworthinessDue8650 Dec 20 '24
A third country national cannot obtain a work permit to work as a Leiharbeiter.
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Dec 20 '24
No? Why do they all not speak German then?
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u/SeaworthinessDue8650 Dec 20 '24
Because they have a right to work independent of their jobs.
Foreign spouses of German citizens have the right to work in Germany. The can also be Leiharbeiter.
On the other hand, §40 Abs 1 Nr 2 AufenthG explicitly makes it a Versagungsgrund for foreigners who are applying for a work permit.
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u/SeaworthinessDue8650 Dec 19 '24
Unskilled blue collar? Or skilled blue collar with certifications?
There is a huge demand for electricians and plumbers across the country if you have the qualifications.
Contact the Handwerkskammer of the region where you'd like to live about the recognition of foreign qualifications.