Germany is facing an acute shortage of truck drivers – and this is a chance for our long-haul drivers
The general conclusion drawn by analysts: demand for highly qualified specialists in the technical field has somewhat declined compared to the past, but the number of vacancies for specialists with secondary vocational education is growing.
German labor market: best chances
The best chances of finding a job are for electronics engineers, electricians, and electrical fitters. As Deutsche Welle notes, they far outpace electrical engineers in the Dekra ranking, whose shortage is also observed throughout Germany.
In second place in terms of demand are IT specialists: out of all analyzed job offers on the labor market, every tenth is for them. A third of vacancies in the IT sector are addressed to software developers, programmers, and IT architects.
The number of vacancies for business informatics specialists has also increased: companies need personnel with deep knowledge in IT and at the same time understanding of economics and production processes. Employers also require system administrators, and slightly fewer IT consultants and data analysts.
Medical personnel
In third place in the overall ranking are nursing specialists (vacancies for them make up 40 percent of the number of vacancies for medical personnel). Slightly less than a third of job offers are addressed to certified geriatric care specialists – compared to last year, they rose from 18th place in the ranking to 7th. Analysts explain this by the fact that Germany recently decided to allocate additional funding to clinics and nursing homes to improve the quality of medical care.
But the number of vacancies for paramedics, pharmacy salespeople, junior staff in the care of the sick and elderly, as well as massage therapists, physiotherapists, and speech therapists has somewhat decreased.
In the ranking of personnel demand compiled by Dekra, you will not find doctors – advertisements for them are published on clinic websites and specialized portals not covered in this study.
In sales
From fourth to sixth place in the Dekra ranking are sales consultants, sales managers, product managers, and customer service managers – they are needed in a wide variety of fields, for example, both insurance companies and franchise companies.
The boom in online trade and the constant improvement of logistics concepts in industry have also led to an increase in personnel demand in the logistics and transport sector (eighth place in the ranking). Despite increasing automation of processes, enterprises need specialists with different skill levels: warehouse workers, forklift drivers, commodity experts, warehouse logistics specialists, and packers.
Service sector
In ninth place in terms of number of vacancies is the service sector. Compared to last year, demand for personnel has grown in the hotel and restaurant business. Employers were primarily looking for service staff and reception administrators, as well as cooks (the number of vacancies for them doubled compared to 2018).
In HR
Paradoxically, new employees are also needed in HR departments. In 10th place in the overall ranking by number of vacancies are recruiters and HR managers (for the first time since 2011). In addition to them, companies need office managers. For them, every tenth offer in this field.
Engineers
But the situation with the shortage of engineers has somewhat calmed down, at least according to the results of the Dekra study. Most often, vacancies are issued for civil engineers and architects, but despite the good conditions in the construction industry, compared to 2018 they dropped two places in the ranking and occupy 12th place.
Demand for electrical engineers has increased slightly. Almost every fifth vacancy for engineers is intended for specialists in mechanical and automotive engineering. 8 percent of vacancies are for industrial engineers, 4 percent for quality engineers.
Drivers needed and more
Judging by the number of vacancies, demand for specialists in the metal and electrical industries remains consistently high. Personnel are needed for assembly of finished parts, technical operation of equipment, and specialists in automation who can work on CNC machines. Specialists in installation and operation of heating and sanitary systems, welders, metal structure fitters, and other metalworking specialists are still in demand. For interior finishing, painters and carpenters are most often sought, although compared to last year demand for them has slightly decreased.
Special attention was paid to advertisements for truck drivers – according to the International Road Transport Union, by 2027 Germany alone will be short of 185,000 such specialists.
In three out of five advertisements, working conditions were described. Half of the vacancies are related to regional transportation. Every second German employer considers it important that the driver ensures the safety of loading and unloading. Basic assembly and repair skills, as well as a general understanding of logistics and warehouse operations, provide an advantage in the labor market. Among frequent requirements are a driver's license category "CE" or a forklift license.