German lawmakers approve a plan to attract skilled workers to plug the country’s labor gap

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s parliament has approved plans to attract more skilled workers to Europe’s biggest economy and help address labor shortages in a growing number of professions. Lawmakers voted on Friday in favor of the legislation, which foresees a “points system” taking into account professional experience and other factors, along the lines of systems already used by countries including Canada. It will ease entry rules for information technology specialists who lack university degrees but have other qualifications. And asylum-seekers who arrived before March 29 and have both qualifications and a job offer can get a residence permit as a professional if they withdraw their asylum applications — eliminating the need to leave the country and apply anew for a work permit.