Germany looks to Central Asia to solve trucker shortage

DW (English)

Germany faces a chronic shortage of truck drivers, leading to run-on effects for the economy as a whole. One German construction company is now looking to Uzbekistan for the solution.

Transcript

00:00Abbasjon Odilov starts his workday loading rubble from a construction site.

00:05Odilov is a truck driver for the Pappenberg construction company.

00:09He's from Uzbekistan, which is one of the places German companies are looking for truckers.

00:14There's a shortage of around 70,000 truck drivers in Germany,

00:18but now Odilov is one, after he did the training here in Halle, southwest of Berlin.

00:23It has a lot to do with the salary. That plays a big role, of course.

00:30Odilov is one of Pappenberg's many foreign truck drivers.

00:34Even as a trainee, he was taking home up to 800 euros a month.

00:38That's well above the average Uzbek salary.

00:41The biggest challenge for him was the German understanding of time.

00:47Punctuality is the most challenging thing.

00:50You always have to be on time in Germany. Everything has to be done before the deadline.

00:56More than 60 Uzbeks have started training as drivers at Pappenberg since 2020.

01:02The company has asphalt and concrete plants in their resource-rich country.

01:07It's nearly impossible to find drivers in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic nowadays,

01:12says HR manager Angela Pappenberg. Not so in Uzbekistan.

01:17There's an incredible number of young people there, an average age of 26.

01:23That is why there is relatively high youth unemployment in some parts of the country.

01:28And I think that's what makes it a good opportunity, a win-win situation for both countries.

01:35Vocational school teachers from Uzbekistan have come to visit.

01:39They're looking at German companies and want to help their students find training in Germany.

01:44Odilov reports on his experiences.

01:48Germany has now signed a migration agreement with Uzbekistan.

01:53This simplifies many things. Pappenberg is already planning to start training there.

01:58That will help the job training, or retraining, to run more smoothly here.

02:05We'll be able to get German driver's licenses faster,

02:08and that will mean the trainees will have a better experience with their training in Germany.

02:14It's driver training at the company today.

02:17Trainee Azizbek Azamov practices reversing. The instructor is pleased.

02:22You did that very well.

02:24In Uzbekistan, Azamov often accompanied his uncle.

02:28He is a truck driver and convinced him to go to Germany.

02:32There are modern trucks and good working conditions and a work environment.

02:37And a better salary, too. That's why I made this decision.

02:42Meanwhile, Odilov sets off on his second trip to the construction site.

02:46He says he wants to work in Germany for a few more years, but then go back to Uzbekistan.

02:52Because, he says, he's homesick.

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