Nigerians can work in Germany without degrees — Envoy Senator Ita Enang

Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, Senator Ita Enang, has said Nigerians with vocational and technical skills can find work in Germany without a university degree, although visa requirements, professional qualifications and proficiency in German can pose challenges.

Speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday, November 3, Enang urged prospective applicants to consider opportunities in driving, hospitality, woodworking, welding and construction. He said some Nigerians overlook these options because they assume employers require a university degree.

“It’s not only graduates that are entitled to employment in Germany or in Europe,” he said, pointing to experienced drivers and workers in skilled trades as examples.

Enang said one issue that had occupied his attention since taking office was the relatively small number of Nigerians he had found working in Germany, even though some held senior positions. He identified securing a visa as one hurdle and said prospective workers should also learn German and obtain the qualifications required for their chosen occupation.

The ambassador said he was learning German himself to better understand how the country’s institutions work and to integrate more easily. He praised Germans for the value they place on their language and urged Nigerians to take similar care of their own languages. He cited efforts to preserve Yoruba and Hausa and called on speakers of languages such as Igbo, Ibibio, Ebira and Tiv to protect them from decline.

The envoy said he had discussed a possible labour migration agreement with German officials, drawing on arrangements Germany had reached with India and Kenya. He said those agreements offered structured routes into employment and that he was studying how Nigeria could pursue a similar arrangement. His latest discussion on the issue, he said, was with Germany’s ambassador for migration cooperation, Dr Ludwig Jung.

Enang said he had obtained English versions of Germany’s immigration and labour laws and was reviewing them alongside relevant European Union legislation to better understand the requirements Nigerian applicants would face.

He added that his work was also aimed at helping Nigerians gain skills they could use back home. “I’m not only working on taking Nigerians to be able to go and work there, I want them to be able to acquire skills and also bring them down here,” he said.