Martina Metsch is a 34-year-old Berlin-based architect whose career illustrates one of the biggest dilemmas facing Germany today, as the forces of globalisation reshape its highly regulated job market.

Ten years ago, anyone with Ms Metsch’s qualifications would have had little trouble landing a full-time employment contract. Yet since graduating in 2001 she has changed jobs nine times, alternating between internships, fixed-term contracts and self-employment. Stable, secure work, she says, “is a distant dream”.