The structural change of a sustainable economy highlights the need for countless other skilled workers. But as of now they are missing in many areas. More policy needs to be engaged here.
German companies may soon be short of millions of workers. The Federal Employment Agency wants to take countermeasures above all with further training. No one should lose out on working life, says the head of the Nuremberg authorities.
In the fight against the huge shortage of skilled workers in the German labor market, experts say that more people should continue to work – including those with less qualifications. “It’s important to get as many potential workers as possible in Germany and not lose anyone,” said Detlef Scheele, chairman of the Federal Employment Agency. consequence of the automation and transformation process – but workers need to have a different profile.
Further training
Detlef Scheele and Hubertus Heil, Minister of Labor
People who are threatened with unemployment due to the restructuring of the economy may lose their jobs, but this workforce must be retained and retrained for other jobs. “We need to train them,” Scheele said. keep people at work, “Scheele said.
Employers in the first place are the ones who have to react and act, because they have to determine in which direction the workforce should be retrained. The Federal Agency sees itself in the next ten years as a kind of moderator in this process. “How can it be passed from company A to company B,” Scheele said, describing the problem they have to deal with. Pilot projects have already been made for various fields, in industry and craft. “We are learning to be the center of transformation,” Scheele said.
The number of economically active persons in Germany who are subject to social security contributions is already at a record level of 34.3 million. The Federal Employment Agency assumes that – if nothing is done – by 2035 Germany will have a shortage of seven million workers.
Looking for labor in other countries
That is why Germany needs to bring in a skilled workforce from European Union countries, but also from outside the EU – now coming nurses and nursing staff from countries like Colombia, Mexico or Indonesia. Germany urgently needs these employees coming from the EU and third countries. If they do not come in sufficient numbers, Germany may face difficulties in economic growth. Lack of arrival of foreigners can hamper economic growth.
In addition, efforts must be made to bring back to the work process at least some of the approximately one million long-term unemployed in Germany. A proper step in this direction is also the part of the Coalition Agreement which provides for changes in this area, Scheele said. Substantial subsidies for the employment of the long-term unemployed can also help here.
Less taxes are required for skilled foreign workers
The chairman of the Chamber of Foreign Trade, Dirk Jandura, has asked the federal government to temporarily reduce the tax burden on skilled foreign workers coming to Germany. “I could imagine that to make Germany attractive to them, skilled workers would be given a tax cut for the first two or three years as a kind of incentive to come here,” Jandura told the Rheinische Post newspaper.
The lack of skilled workers is today a crucial disadvantage to competition. Therefore, the federal government needs to quickly increase attractiveness and make a more appropriate immigrant policy. For him, the wording of the coalition agreement is very unclear. “I would like a systematic approach with clear rules like crystal, who should come to us, with what professional qualifications and what will be the appropriate incentives for these people. The global battle for the smartest heads has long since begun. “We are in danger of losing this battle.”
Trade unions – training is extremely important
There is no doubt that further professional preparation should be an essential area of structural change. But who should be responsible for it? The unions see the government as responsible. It should support employees in structural changes, for example with the right to qualification and training, says DGB chief Reiner Hoffmann.
“Companies do not need uncoordinated legal bureaucratic rules,” says Rainer Dulger, president of the Employers’ Association. Training is the “tomorrow” of entrepreneurship and the workforce needs to be as flexible as possible. “Companies and their employees can best decide on the individual options and conditions required.”
Further training is one of the challenges posed by structural change, Dulger said. “We need a further educational revolution – it must happen and it will happen in the company.” Dugler thinks the amount of about 41 billion euros that companies have already invested in further training will continue to grow./DW