German Engineering Skill Shortage Hits Hard

Currently the situation on the German labor market is eminently good. The unemployment rate is dropping and the number of employed people is more than 44 Million and at a record level.

But the latest study presented by the German federal government shows that this situation is likely to change significantly within the next 10 - 20 years. By 2030 almost 3 Million skilled workers could be missing in different branches according to the estimations the Swiss research institute Prognos has made.

The demographic change is mostly responsible for this development, as numerous people will have left their active work life by then. Furthermore, the demand on the work itself becomes more and more complex. Digitization is going to play an important role. On one hand it will lead to the creation of more jobs, on the other hand it will entail a change in expertise.

Skills shortage is now the greatest concern of German businesses according to a recent economic survey by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Especially highly qualified engineers, technicians, researchers, medical and other similar professionals will be needed.

The recent skill shortage analyses from June 2017 drawn up by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit states a nationwide shortage of engineers in the areas of software development, programming, metal construction, aerospace and automobile, mechatronics and construction. This gap is going to be hard to fill for small and medium-sized enterprises in particular. Those companies are already having difficulties in recruiting skilled workers as they are limited to the local labor market.

Only international recruiting will allow the mobilization and access to an additional qualified work force.

SPecialist Recruitment Agencies like Who Needs Engineers are able to help solve this problem. They locate the best educated and motivated job seekers from around the globe, using their knowledge of local labour markets to enable German companies to acquire the best international talent for time-critical projects. As more and more companies feel the economic pinch of a shortage of skilled personel at home, the ability to attract foreign experts will become a priority.