The shortage of skilled workers has been hanging over the German economy and industry like the sword of Damocles for years. Not only is the German government addressing this issue with a strategy, but the fiber optic industry, including aconium GmbH, is also intensifying its efforts, including as part of the Skilled Workers for Fiber Optic Expansion initiative founded in 2017. Tim Brauckmüller, Managing Director of aconium: “The shortage of skilled workers is one of the key challenges in an increasingly fast-changing global economy. For this reason, aconium GmbH supports further education and training, as well as quality management in the sense of lifelong learning.”
The current labor market figures are both encouraging and alarming. Germany has the highest level of employment since the country was founded. Over 45 million citizens have a job. However, more than 1.8 million jobs in Germany are currently unfilled. What’s more, the forecasts for the development of the labor market are causing additional worry lines: Around one in three people in employment will reach retirement age in the next 15 years. The consequences of retirements will become apparent in the next five years, especially in the training professions. This is because significantly more people will retire than will enter the labor market through training. The Institute for Employment Research at the Federal Employment Agency has calculated that, in the worst-case scenario, there will be a shortage of around seven million skilled workers by 2035.
Fierce competition for qualified workers is already in full swing. There is a need for action – particularly urgent in some sectors.
The good thing is that there are also instruments to counteract the problem. Parallel to the development described above, structural change is accelerating. This is leading to job losses in some sectors and regions. At the same time, however, numerous employees are being freed up for the labor market. The challenge is that the labor market of the future will require personnel with new qualifications. Valuable potential can be exploited here with retraining and further training opportunities.
Immigration is another instrument. The first step in this direction was already taken last year with the presentation of the key points on the immigration of skilled workers from third countries. Modern immigration law can minimize bureaucracy and complicated procedures for work visas. Work is also being done on the recognition of training and study qualifications so that skilled workers can be employed as such.
All of this needs to be orchestrated. For this reason, the federal government has drafted a strategy for skilled workers, which is currently being coordinated. The first reading took place in the Bundestag on January 20. The strategy is intended to provide a framework for attracting more skilled workers for the duration of the legislative period and define the specific fields of action. However, politicians will not be able to tackle this challenge alone. What is needed is a cross-industry approach and cooperation between all stakeholders.
With the right framework conditions, it will be possible to counter the shortage of skilled workers. The German government has defined the following core elements for this:
- Strengthen training,
- Develop a culture of continuing education and adapt it to future requirements, enable lifelong learning,
- Further develop immigration law, create opportunities for qualified immigration, facilitate professional recognition,
- better work-life balance, especially for women,
- longer working lives and a more flexible transition to retirement, continue and supplement dialog formats.
One of the measures, for example, is to guarantee all school leavers a training place. This is also stated in the coalition agreement. However, according to a survey conducted by the DIHK in 2021, more than a third of all companies (out of 15,000 companies surveyed) were unable to fill all the training places on offer. There was a lack of (qualified) applications and thousands of training places remain unfilled. One of the problems is that around 50,000 pupils leave school every year without any qualifications. They find it particularly difficult to get a training place and are often stuck in various transition systems for a long time. In total, there are 1.3 million people between the ages of 20 and 30 in Germany without initial vocational training.
Another instrument is that working people will be supported by the federal government with a qualification allowance in the future. The law on financing further training can help companies and employees in particular to cope with the upcoming changes in the world of work. Possible scenarios include, for example, training leave or part-time training. After all, it is not only digitalization that will lead to ever new work requirements in the future. Increased mechanization, networking of production processes, systemic and cross-trade considerations in many professions will lead to growing demands on the activities and qualification levels of employees, according to the BMAS’s skilled worker monitoring (2022). It is expected that two out of five new jobs will be affected by this development.
Industries are affected differently – data provides insight
Where so-called skills shortages occur depends on the sector and the region. The Federal Employment Agency’s bottleneck analysis is a good tool for gaining a detailed overview. It uses various indicators to highlight recruitment difficulties. According to the latest version from 2021, there are bottlenecks for around 148 professions. The shortage of skilled workers in medicine, skilled trades, education and nursing professions is to be expected and has already been widely discussed in public. However, there are also too few skilled workers in construction electrics, information and communication technology and construction planning and supervision.
Another information tool is the Skilled Workers Monitoring of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. This analyzes the development of the labour market on the basis of 140 occupational groups. One of the key findings of the latest evaluation is that 42 of these 140 occupational groups will face staffing problems in the next five years.
Specialists in fiber optic expansion
One area that, like so many other sectors, also suffers from a chronic shortage of skilled workers is fiber optic expansion. aconium is one of Europe’s leading infrastructure and regional development agencies. As part of the German government’s Skilled Workers for Fiber Optic Expansion initiative, aconium GmbH is working with numerous partners to increase the visibility of the industry. On the website https://glasfaserausbau.org, interested parties can find information on the various occupational fields and, above all, job offers for skilled workers with a vocational qualification and trainees who want to work in the installation and assembly of fiber optic networks. However, career changers and people looking for an apprenticeship can also find what they are looking for on the website. There is also information on further training opportunities for employees in companies. The campaign is led by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce and is supported by industry associations, institutions and ministries. Because only together can the shortage of skilled workers in fiber optic expansion be remedied.
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