Are Indian butchers the solution?
Since last year, a butcher's shop in Baden-Württemberg has been training young Indians in the butcher's trade. Even if this initiative sounds unusual, it is to be expanded even further this year. The Indian trainees will not only be employed in butcher's shops, but also in other sectors such as the construction industry.
This is just one of various measures being taken to counteract the shortage of skilled workers. Targeted immigration is intended to help close the skills gap. To this end, a "Skilled Immigration Act" was implemented in 2019 specifically to reduce the barriers to immigration.
According to the German Economic Institute, the twelve-month average skills gap from July 2021 to July 2022 for qualified workers across all occupations was 537,923 vacancies. This figure describes all vacancies that could not be filled purely mathematically because there were no suitably qualified unemployed people to fill them.
It has been obvious for some time: the German labor market is lacking skilled workers and the situation will become even worse in the future. In many sectors, qualified personnel are in short supply, which in the worst case can even lead to company insolvency.
Reasons & solutions
One of the main reasons for this development is demographic change. Put very simply, the German population is getting older on average. The baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age, while fewer and fewer children are being born. The demographic trend in Germany has been known for a long time. Other factors, however, were more unexpected, such as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the labor market. Many employees who lost their jobs during the crisis are no longer returning to their old professions.
There are also problems in the education system. Schools and training centers are not succeeding in getting enough young people interested in important professions. In addition to the lack of information about the wide range of professions, the relatively low pay and lack of appreciation certainly play a decisive role in some sectors.
Improvements in the education sector should also be initiated from the political side. However, as with targeted immigration, these are measures that take time and cannot take effect immediately.
Anyone urgently looking for qualified employees is currently facing a major challenge. Vacancy times have already increased significantly in many sectors. The construction and care sectors in particular are having major problems filling vacancies efficiently. It is therefore advisable to include alternative and modern methods in the recruitment process in addition to the traditional methods of applying for jobs.
For so-called blue collar jobs, i.e. positions that are mainly characterized by physical activities, social networks are a good way of approaching potential candidates. About lead ads can be used to generate applications very easily and efficiently.
Another option is to reach users across devices on websites and apps. Similar to the approach via social networks, this does not rely on the usual job boards and job advertisement websites. About programmatic job advertising can be used to target suitable candidates based on user data.
It is always worth exploring new approaches. However, this should not end with the recruitment of employees, but should also include the corporate culture, image and self-image of the company. Values such as self-determination, meaningful work and flexibility are particularly popular among the younger generation. A company should honestly reflect on the extent to which it offers attractive incentives.
When there is a shortage of skilled workers, it is therefore essential to react as creatively and flexibly as possible to current challenges in addition to medium and long-term measures. This requires different approaches in order to adapt to the conditions of the labor market.
Sources:
Deutschlandfunk article
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