Telecommunications jobs in Germany

In our recent international Technology: Voice of the Workforce survey, which asked more than 1,600 technology professionals from around the world questions about their job, sector and career aspirations, we found that 57% of telecommunications professionals would like to move abroad at some point in their career. The highest proportion (40%) want to move to Europe and within Europe, Germany is the second most desirable location after the UK.

But why is the telecommunications market booming in Germany?  And what job opportunities are available for the global telco professionals looking to move there?

Heavy investment by government and engaged industry leaders

With around 118 million subscribers, Germany has Europe’s largest mobile market and the second largest broadband market in Europe with the latter due to the increased availability of 3G and LTE networks. Germany’s success in the mobile and broadband markets has resulted in a surge of telecommunications jobs in Germany not just for local nationals but for telecommunications professionals globally.

The launch of the Digitale Strategie 2025 by the German government set the objective to create a gigabit fibre optical network by 2025. High performance broadband networks (broadband connections with speeds in the range of several gigabits per second) are seen as indispensable for Germany’s digital future, and the digital infrastructure that can support high capacity, broad availability and low latency must be created to achieve these objectives. To support this, the government has set up a number of financial incentives to stimulate the expansion of broadband networks including loans of up to 150 million euros through the government-owned development bank KfW. A 10 million euro loan is also on offer by Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank to support projects intending to improve or establish communal infrastructure such as broadband networks in rural areas.

Indeed, interest in developing the telecommunications infrastructure does not solely come from government initiatives, but also in the private sector with telecommunications leaders in Germany having regular meetings at roundtable events to discuss collaborative strategies in developing cheaper networks more efficiently. There is also strong support for investment in network infrastructure by industry leaders such as Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of the German internet services company United Internet AG, who said:

“Building powerful fibre optic networks with direct access for offices and production sites is absolutely necessary for preparing the way into the gigabit era.”

Interesting projects

Working in the German telecommunications sector, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in career-defining projects. One such project is taking place in Hamburg, home to Europe’s third largest port. The Hamburg Port Authority is currently working with the technology, networking hardware and telecommunications equipment vendor Cisco Systems on a smart city concept. This includes the development of intelligent infrastructure design which involves an intelligent road system, integrated smart waterway and railway management systems to help traffic congestion problems and reduce the ports operational costs by 70% over the next few years. In order to achieve an integrated network infrastructure that is capable of supporting IoT and big data, a significant amount of technical telecommunications professionals will be needed to support the implementation.

Another massive piece of work is being undertaken by the Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica. Following Telefonica’s purchase of E-plus in 2014, Telefonica continues to work on the consolidation of their respective networks, from site infrastructure through to oss/bss and shared software platforms. Furthermore, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom continue to compete to expand their nationwide rollout of LTE from 3G. The sheer amount of work being undertaken to enhance network infrastructure in Germany offers German speaking telecommunications professionals a great opportunity to make a huge difference in connectivity for future generations. It also enables contractors to move from project to project with different vendors with ease.

Mark Payne, Divisional Manager - Communications, Networkers comments on some of the skills companies will need to draw upon to support these infrastructure projects:

“In order to meet the German government’s ambitious targets, telecommunications companies need vast support from a range of telecommunications specialists. From Field Service Operators and Civil Works Coordinators to Site Managers, who can build the infrastructure, employers will also need to draw upon more technical skills such as Radio, IMS/EPC Core and Fibre (FTTX) Engineers who possess skills in design, integration, performance optimisation & support to ensure the implementation of technologies such as LTE, 5G, big data and IoT are successful.”

When asked what factors would attract them to a new employer, a quarter of telecommunications professionals said ‘interesting work’ and even more (29%) said ‘good career prospects’ (Networkers Technology: Voice of the Workforce report, 2017). With no shortage of exciting work on offer in Germany, it’s no surprise that many see this country as an attractive place to work.

Attractive pay

In our research, the importance of competitive pay was confirmed as a crucial factor in deciding whether to join a new employer, with 63% of telecommunications professionals choosing good pay and benefits as the biggest attraction to a new employer. With Germany being one of the highest payers not just in Europe but globally, telecommunications professionals looking to make a move abroad could well be rewarded with improved pay rates.

Adu Nathan, Account Manager, Networkers said:

“In Germany, positions such as Radio, Transmission & Software engineers on average receive 15-25% higher pay than the same roles in countries like the UK, France, Spain, and the CIS region. This is one of the major benefits of working in Germany over other European destinations.”

Germany looks set to continue to dominate the telecommunications market in Europe with heavy investment from public and private sectors, interesting projects and good pay driving telecommunications professionals to the region.
If you’re interested in moving to Germany for work, see our latest telecommunications jobs here.

For more information about working in Germany contact adu.nathan@networkerstechnology.com.

To see our latest telecommunications vacancies in Germany please click here.

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Wenn Sie an einem weiterführenden Gespräch bezüglich der nachfolgenden Job Opportunities interessiert sind, dann freuen wir uns über eine Kontaktaufnahme mit Ann-Katrin Moex unter +44 20 7395 0090 oder per Email Ann-Katrin.Moex@networkerstechnology.com.