Situated in the South-West of Germany, the Baden-Württemberg federal state (known as THE LÄND) is one of Europe’s, perhaps even the world’s, leading business and industrial hubs. It is home to 149 leading global companies. It’s the home of inventors and tinkerers and it has a track record of championing progressive and innovative ideas. Even though it’s famous throughout Germany for its strong, stable economy, excellent job prospects and exceptionally high quality of life, it has two major problems. Firstly, the state is not well known outside of Germany, and secondly, it has a persistent – and serious – skilled labour shortage. According to research by Prognos AG, the state’s demand for skilled labour will be well into the six figures range by 2030.
THE LÄND needed an eye-catching recruitment campaign with global reach.
To achieve “eye-catching” agency, thjnk, reached a lot further than “global”.
In thjnk’s recruitment campaign, local authorities have extended an open invitation to all prospective skilled migrants to check out THE LÄND. All means anyone in the universe.
To prove the seriousness of this initiative, the state’s head, Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann, has issued an official speech and interview.
“The shortage of skilled labour is one of the biggest problems of our time,” Kretschmann explained. “We would like to extend a clear invitation to everyone out there. To any intelligent life out there: LÄND HERE.”
Matching Kretschmann’s own commitment, the authorities have facilitated an official, state-run landing strip in Mössingen for prospective visitors to land from anywhere across our planet (and even beyond). Video invitations show a large yellow arrow pointing to it, with the illuminated words, LÄND HERE.
What’s more, the initiative is backed by some of Germany’s leading tech, manufacturing and innovation companies and research institutes, including Mercedes-Benz, Bosch, IBM, SAP, remote software giant TeamViewer and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems – whose representatives have also gone on camera to offer their reasons to LÄND HERE.
“Innovative strength has always been the driving force behind our state’s success. Here, people from different nations and backgrounds come together. They inspire and motivate each other and can thrive. It is exactly this diversity that creates the best ideas and innovations,” stated Sabine Kohleisen, member of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, HR & Director of Labor Relations.
The supersized invitation is backed by a series of policies and programmes to welcome talent and facilitate easy movement of labour from beyond Germany’s borders. Potential applicants can visit the campaign website to access the Relocation Guide and a Wall of Opportunities, which links directly to the career pages of companies from Baden-Württemberg.
“Global competition for the best talent has become much tougher. It is clear to us that we need to become faster and more flexible when it comes to the immigration of skilled labour, and we are now taking a completely new approach to this. Inaction is not an option – we see this as a powerful way to communicate the advantages of living and working here to people all over the world (and even beyond!),” commented Winfried Kretschmann, minister-president of Baden-Württemberg. “We want to make it unmissable to all intelligent life exactly why they should take the idea of ‘landing here’ very seriously.”
“THE LÄND offers everything we need to responsibly use future technologies, like cloud, AI and quantum computing for the world. It’s a place full of ideas, expertise in engineering and a vibrant ecosystem of companies, start-ups, universities and public support,” added Wolfgang Wendt, chairman of the management board, IBM Germany.
