Chapter 630 Labor Cooperation

Regardless of the extent of compulsory education in East Africa, it did not hinder Trayl's calculations. He said to Kranis, "Mayor Kranis, since you have so many middle school students in East Africa and cannot provide them with better jobs, isn't this a huge waste of social resources?"

"Well, we have thought about it as well. After all, investment in education is not a small amount, not to mention the ten-year compulsory education. However, this matter is decided by the central government, so we can only be responsible for its implementation." Kranis expressed his thoughts truthfully.

If you spend more money but don't get the corresponding return, you will indeed have doubts in your heart. However, East Africa does this to make it easier to adapt to historical trends in the future. Because Ernst knows that with the development of the times, the demand for talents will only increase. For example, Germany now has more than 20,000 college students, which is not as many as an ordinary university in the previous life.

Ernst is thinking about long-term benefits, but East Africa is currently unable to provide so many jobs.

"That's it. We in the Austro-Hungarian Empire would not be so impulsive in investing in education. This does not prevent Austria from becoming one of the civilization centers of Europe," said Terrell.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire also invested a lot in education, but compared with the East African governments, the Austro-Hungarian government was definitely more calculating, or it could be said that the two took different routes. One was elite education, which focused more on quality, and the other was civilian education, which focused more on quantity. However, there is a saying that goes, quantitative change leads to qualitative change, and this is also the way of East Africa.

However, there is no difference between the two, and their goals are the same, provided that they sincerely cultivate talents for the country, even if it is only for the utilitarian purpose of maintaining national rule and stability.

Terrell asked tentatively: "Mayor Kranis, has your East African government ever thought of a best of both worlds solution to the employment problem of high school students after graduation?"

"Well, Mr. Trail, what do you think?" Kranis asked doubtfully.

"Mayor Kranis, listen to me. This is what I mean. You have students who are facing employment problems, and we in Austria have many job opportunities that require a slightly higher level of education, at least better than that of elementary school students. In this way, wouldn't there be complementarity between our two countries?" Trail directly stated his purpose.

His words did make Kranis think. As an East African official, Kranis had a relatively good understanding of the national conditions in East Africa, so he was also aware of the efforts to promote compulsory education in East Africa.

What Traill said is indeed very attractive, which is related to the term "remittances". In fact, many countries earn income through "remittances".

For example, the mercenaries of various states and nobles in medieval German history were actually a form of "remittances", working for foreign monarchs and earning income.

Like many countries in the past, such as Egypt, Pakistan, India, Thailand, etc., "remittances" are an important source of economy, especially in Egypt. "Remittances" are even a pillar industry. After all, Egypt has a population of more than 100 million and only a small piece of land on both sides of the Nile River. If they don't go out to find ways, they will really starve to death.

Today, Japan also relies heavily on "remittances" to accumulate funds for national development. As for Europe, it is even more frequent, and this is most evident in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The development of countries and regions within the Austro-Hungarian Empire was unbalanced, so a large number of Hungarians, Serbs and Poles went to economically developed areas to work. If they later chose to return to their hometowns, these wages should also be regarded as "remittances". After all, the countries within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, especially Austria and Hungary, can be regarded as two countries, and other regions also have strong autonomy and independence.

"Mr. Trail, your idea is very good, but this is not something that a small local official like me can decide. You must know that we in East Africa have very strict management of the population, and the mobility is not as strong as that of European countries. So even if I agree, I can't do anything about it. But I will report your suggestions to the higher authorities." Kranis said.

As for the poor population mobility in East Africa, it depends on how you analyze it. The household registration system of East Africans has locked many people in place. Without government permission, mobility is indeed very poor. However, there are also many large-scale population migrations organized by non-governmental organizations in East Africa, which has also had a significant effect on the development of inland East Africa. An example in contrast is the development of the West by the United States, where the government hardly intervened and relied entirely on the power of the private sector.

Traer asked, "Mr. Mayor, do you think it's possible?"

Of course, Kranis didn't know. After all, there was a provincial government above him, and it was not certain whether he could pass the provincial government. So he said, "It depends on what the higher-level government thinks. But you can try it in Dar es Salaam. After all, your identity as an Austrian businessman is much more useful than that of a small mayor like me, and it is easy to attract the attention of the central government."

Traylor was still very satisfied with the solution given by Kranis. It was indeed more efficient for them to do this themselves.

Finally, the topic returned to the issue of investment in factory construction. This time, the Austrian businessmen finally gave the city of Mogadishu a chance, which is to solve the port problem first. If the new port in Mogadishu can be completed by the end of the year, they can test the waters first. As for the subsequent supporting facilities, they will talk about it next year.

The reason why the Austrian businessmen delayed was to gain more benefits. Even without the guarantee of the Mogadishu Municipal Government, they could pay for the relevant work themselves. But who would not do so if they could save more money!

They are still optimistic about the prospects of Mogadishu, especially since the fruits and vegetables here are indeed very popular in Europe. So even if Mogadishu does not make too many promises, some of them will choose to cooperate, but that will not achieve the results that Mogadishu wants.

The city of Mogadishu is more concerned about exporting the Northern Province's products to overseas markets, but its own capabilities in this regard are limited, so it can only hand it over to Austrian businessmen. Once they build the relevant factories, they will also actively promote the superiority of the Northern Province's agricultural products to Europe for the sake of profit.

…

"Labor cooperation?" Ernst understood the Austrian businessman's idea after hearing the report from his men. Before this, there were people working abroad in East Africa, but it was mainly done through official channels or through the Hexingen Consortium. This was the first time that a foreign civil group like the Austrian businessmen took the initiative to seek cooperation.

After thinking about it, Ernst agreed. This matter would not do any harm to East Africa, but he also had some considerations of his own.

"We can cooperate, but we have to take the initiative. We can build a similar platform based on the model of international students, but this platform will be a multinational labor company instead of a government agency. After all, we have to ensure the safety of our citizens, at least to prevent them from being unfamiliar with the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

Ernst just wants to build a platform, not control it. This is not alarmist. There are indeed examples of countries doing this, and that is the current Far East Empire government.

Anyway, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was also a monarchy, so Ernst was not afraid of any dangerous remarks and ideas being spread back to East Africa. He was also not afraid that these graduates would not come back after working abroad. After all, their homes were in East Africa, so it didn't matter if they didn't come back. In Ernst's view, staying in East Africa or in Germany was a waste of time.

(End of this chapter)