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.
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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.