The German economy needs both experienced specialists and unskilled workers
As shown by a study by Deloitte, which involved 158 companies from Germany, the search for qualified employees has become one of the most pressing problems for German enterprises, hindering business growth and development. "In narrowed labor markets, companies are forced to restrain their potential. The shortage of personnel is characteristic of all industries," says Deloitte senior economist Alexander Börsch.
As noted by "Russkaya Germaniya", the German construction industry suffers the most from the shortage of personnel, with 75% of enterprises experiencing such difficulties. The Munich Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) provides different data, according to which 38% of German companies engaged in civil engineering suffer from a shortage of both foremen and simply experienced workers.
There is still a large labor shortage in the elderly care sector. At the end of 2020, Germany lacked more than 376,000 caregivers, and this figure could increase to almost 420,000 people by 2025. The federal government has repeatedly tried to reform this segment of the economy, but has not yet been able to reverse the difficult situation. The partial closure of borders and the pandemic have exacerbated the crisis in the care sector in small towns, especially those dependent on foreign workers.
An equally alarming situation is observed in the logistics sector, where in recent years there has been a shortage of experienced drivers. Some experts fear that if this trend continues, a transport crisis similar to the British one could erupt in Germany in the near future.
"We in Germany are also moving towards an inevitable reduction in supplies," believes Dirk Engelhardt, a member of the board of the Federal Association of Freight Transport, Logistics and Waste Disposal (BGL). As early as the beginning of autumn, up to 30 trucks were idle in some German fleets due to a lack of drivers, and by the end of the year the situation in the logistics sector could only worsen.
Engelhardt considers the main reason for the annual reduction in the total number of professional drivers in Germany to be the too long and expensive process of obtaining a license for a multi-ton vehicle. With an average cost of a training course of 10,000 euros and the specifics of this difficult and not highly paid profession, the annual number of licenses issued in Germany for driving trucks does not exceed 15,000, while more than 35,000 qualified drivers retire each year.
According to the BGL board member, the situation could be changed by partial or full assumption of the financial costs of students by transport companies, but many of these enterprises are not ready for this step because they fear that a specialist who has received a license, instead of working off the funds spent on him, will move to competitors in search of better working conditions.
Currently, Germany lacks between 60,000 and 80,000 drivers, and the need for them will increase year by year. Engelhardt sees the only way out in the current conditions as attracting foreigners from the European Union and other European countries outside the community. However, for this, Berlin and Brussels will have to change migration legislation and wait for the end of the pandemic, which restricts the free movement of migrants.
Catering establishments, which reopened after last year's lockdown and are recording their first profits, faced a shortage of personnel at the beginning of summer. In August of this year alone, German restaurateurs were looking for more than 17,000 cooks. In total, at the end of the summer season, there was a shortage of 46,000 employees in this segment of the economy.
Markus Gessler, owner of the Münster restaurant Lux, believes that difficult times for cafes and restaurants continue, as during the lockdown many former waiters and kitchen assistants found new jobs in warehouses and stores and are afraid to return to their usual occupations, fearing a new wave of quarantine restrictions.
Together with their former colleagues, hundreds of cooks have left their profession, the most qualified of them have found new, higher-paying jobs in Austria and Switzerland and do not plan to return to Germany in the near future.
"The problem lies in salaries. A highly qualified master earns two or even three times more than a good cook," Gessler states, adding that the shortage of specialists who have permanently changed their field of activity or gone abroad in search of a better life will be felt in Germany for a long time.
"Germany is losing labor," says Detlef Scheele, head of the Federal Employment Agency. He acknowledged that due to the inevitable aging of the German population, the number of citizens of working age is decreasing every year. According to the agency's forecasts, in 2021 alone, the German labor market may lose nearly 150,000 workers, and in the coming years these figures could become even "more dramatic."
Scheele's words are confirmed by the results of a study by the Ifo Institute, according to which in June 2021, managers of 34.6% of German companies complained about a shortage of qualified workers. Such a high value has been recorded in Germany only the second time in recent history. According to Scheele, the loss of the working-age population in Germany can only be compensated by attracting hundreds of thousands of able-bodied foreigners annually.
"We need 400,000 immigrants per year. Significantly more than in previous years," Scheele said. In his opinion, the German economy simultaneously needs experienced specialists and unskilled workers ready to work full-time with full dedication.