Foreign vet professionals are being actively sought to address the gap in local skilled workforce. - Consultation Held over Proposed Directive for Animal and Environmental Safeguards
Employers in rural regions can't ignore the dearth of veterinarians - positions lie vacant for months, prompting an increased emphasis on recruiting overseas professionals. Matthias Link hails from Varrel, near Kirchdorf, and has two foreign vets working in his practice since 2024, one from Iran and the other from their home country.
Asal Ilkhani Zadeh, a 30-year-old from Tehran, made the move to a small village near Sulingen. Initially, she found it challenging due to the distinct dialect and communication difficulties under pressure with animal owners.
Former students of farrier schools, both work in distinct practices, with Zadeh focusing on small animals and her colleague Mohammad Ranjbar dedicating his attention to livestock. Ranjbar grasped technical terms like milk fever, stone calf, and farrowing during his initial farm visits in Varrel. The 33-year-old from Tabriz, northern Iran, finds solace in the tranquil surroundings of northern Germany and friendly people.
While the number of active veterinarians has grown nationwide since 2013, many work part-time, and the female proportion exceeds 70%. Around 3,000 practice owners within the next ten years will retire due to age. Link, who is 61 and manages a 28-year-old practice, maintains he'd need another 1-2 colleagues considering his heavy workload.
The issue of foreign veterinary qualification recognition is under review at the state and national level. However, the proceedings have been delayed in the Bundesrat, as stated by Agriculture Minister Miriam Staudte (Greens). Moreover, skill shortages persist not only in private practices but also veterinary offices.
"The focus isn't solely about animal health," Staudte contends, "but also disease control, feed, and food safety."
As of last year, the Lower Saxony Chamber of Veterinarians had 6,819 members, including 324 non-Germans, translating to a 4.8% foreign proportion. Current applications for approbation—the certified right to exercise a specific profession in Germany—from so-called third countries mostly hail from Ukraine, Iran, and Turkey.
Advocating for a knowledge test as an alternative to document reviews to expedite foreign qualification recognition, Staudte envisions this provision as useful in scenarios where documents get lost or confiscated during flight.
The Lower Saxony Chamber of Veterinarians views the personnel issue as temporarily solvable by hiring more foreign colleagues. Approximately 800 of the region's practice owners are age 57 or older and will likely retire in the next decade, while the number of veterinary medicine study spots remains stagnant at the nation's five institutions. Females account for 85% of graduates.
Demand for veterinary services is on the rise.
In the past, Link worked with veterinarians from various countries, including Iran, Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, and Guinea-Bissau. Although demand for animal care has increased, especially for pets, Link finds it difficult to attract applicants that reply to job listings.
"Things aren't the same when it comes to caring for pets today compared to the past," Link asserts. Modern treatments are more comprehensive, and owners are more inclined to invest in their pets' well-being.
Link has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with his foreign colleagues, including the two new ones from Iran. The key factor, he maintains, is communication: "80% of our job involves psychology, and it's similar for most occupations that involve people."
- Skills Shortages in Rural Areas
- Immigrant Integration
- Foreseeable Retirements
- Gender Balance in Veterinary Profession
- Foreign Qualification Recognition
- Cultural Barriers
- Government Initiatives
- Rising Demand for Veterinary Services
- The shortages in rural veterinary positions are being addressed by recruiting overseas professionals, such as Asal Ilkhani Zadeh from Iran, who have undergone vocational training in their home countries.
- The Lower Saxony Chamber of Veterinarians is seeking to alleviate skills shortages by promoting the recognition of foreign qualifications through a knowledge test, particularly for applicants from countries like Ukraine, Iran, and Turkey.
