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According to the German Economic Institute (Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft), 537,923 skilled workers were missing across Germany in various fields in July. (Tagesschau.de, 2022) What sounds dramatic is also reflected in the real business world: bottlenecks in production, deliveries and other areas put companies under pressure to find qualified staff. But what is meant by a skills shortage, in which fields and regions are skilled workers most lacking, and what reasons are responsible for the shortage of qualified staff? We show you here.
The skills shortage explained simply
The world is talking about a skills shortage in many fields. To define it, however, the term should first be distinguished from the term staff shortage, which is also prevalent at the moment. After all, a labour shortage is not the same as a skills shortage. A labour shortage exists when a company has more vacancies to fill than there are workers available in general, regardless of their qualifications. A skills shortage is when there are more vacancies than applicants and the demand for skilled workers cannot be met over a longer period. Here, people with particular qualifications, such as completed vocational training or a university degree, are especially sought after. (Hauber, 2022)
These occupations in Germany are particularly affected
Skilled workers are in short supply particularly in the skilled trades and in care, but also in academic occupational groups. In the skilled trades, this particularly affects occupations in electrical installation and assembly, machining, plastics processing and welding technology; among academic occupational groups, it shows in medicine, engineering and IT. But there is also an enormous staff shortage in elderly care and nursing. (Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln e.V., 2017)
Reasons for the skills shortage
Probably the strongest cause of the shortage of qualified staff is that Germany is ageing and many skilled workers of the Baby Boomer generation will retire from 2030. They currently make up 45% of the German population. Replacements for the skilled workers who have retired are not keeping pace, because the old-age dependency ratio is well above the youth dependency ratio. (service.destatis.de, 2022)
Furthermore, there are fewer apprentices, because education policy in Germany increasingly paves the way for young people to go to university. Apprenticeship occupations therefore appear unattractive, as does their poor reputation in terms of pay and working conditions. The skilled trades and care in particular are affected, and are currently completely overstretched because of the skills shortage. (Hauber, 2022)
In addition, many rural areas are struggling with outward migration. Universities and the trend towards studying draw qualified people increasingly into the cities. While there is hardly any skills shortage there, businesses outside the cities can barely find young skilled workers to make up for those retiring. (Hauber, 2022)
Solutions and measures against the skills shortage
To counteract the skills shortage, there are a number of solutions and measures that experts recommend. These are:
Apprenticeship occupations must be made attractive again through fair working conditions and pay. It is also up to education policy to stop designing school careers exclusively around the goal of going to university.
Traditionally male-dominated occupations are particularly affected by the skills bottleneck. A good example is IT occupations, where the proportion of women is just 17 per cent. It is therefore all the more important to break down stereotypes in occupations too and make them attractive to women. (Tagesschau.de, 2022)
Benefits such as flexible working hours, possibly a four-day week, subsidies for public transport or sports activities, and opportunities for further training have therefore become indispensable for companies that want to attract qualified staff. (Hauber, 2022)
Alongside improving the image of companies and occupations, another possible solution could be to bring in skilled workers from abroad. Where we have a shortage, some countries have qualified people who cannot find a suitable job in their home country because of the political or economic situation.
Sources
Hauber, L. (29. 03 2022). Recruitee.com. Retrieved from https://recruitee.com/de-artikel/fachkraeftemangel-ursachen-loesungen
Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln e.V. (2017). Fachkräfteengpässe in Unternehmen.
service.destatis.de. (08. 11 2022). https://service.destatis.de. Retrieved from https://service.destatis.de: https://service.destatis.de/bevoelkerungspyramide/index.html
Tagesschau.de. (12. 08 2022). Tagesschau.de. Retrieved from Tagesschau.de: https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/iw-fachkraeftemangel-sozialarbeit-luecke-101.html
