Talent shortages are rising at alarming rates in Germany
n an Info business survey of over 10,000 companies in Germany, almost half of all companies investigated, reported impaired business operations due to the lack of specialist staff, and it’s only expected to get worse.
The study compared these skilled shortages to other European countries and discovered that Germany is in 4th place on the scale of countries reporting a shortage of skilled workers, with over 49.4%. Malta (69.5%), the Netherlands (60.6%), and Sweden (50%) are the highest.
But then, historically, these staffing shortages were never an issue. But the info business study found that the shortage has been growing since 2009 and quadrupled in 2022, causing intense gaps in all sectors — from manufacturing to construction, trades, and the service sector — there is a shortage of skilled workers everywhere.
The shortage is especially highest in the service sector, with the lack of skilled staff more apparent in the event industry and accommodation. 44.5% of all manufacturing companies surveyed also complained of a lack of specialist staff — 58.1% of the food industry equally complained of this gaping hole in their personnel.
In other words, Germany faces a supply and demand issue.
Baby boomers are retiring, and there need to be more skilled workers to fill up the gaps created. With further growing recession concerns, compounded by Germany’s lower birth rate, many companies wonder how they can deal with these empty slots without breaking the bank or compounding the problem.
The impact of lack of talent shortage in Germany
Lack of skilled staff means failing sales, rising personnel costs, and increased workloads for the remaining workforce. These increased workloads will equally lower the morale of the remaining workforce, which can limit their productivity and even threaten their existence.
A lack of skilled staff can slow down a company’s growth. Companies may even be forced to take desperate measures and hire ill-suited talents to manage the bottlenecks, leading to less stringent quality measures and potential losses. Unfortunately, negligence, faulty artisanship, and lack of regulatory awareness are equally the problems looming when Companies have no choice but to succumb to shortcuts to deal with skilled shortages.
What if global talent can be the solution?
Of course, exploiting domestic potential by educating and training skilled workers is a good strategy. But filling up the present demand requires more urgency. Hence, there is a need to hire global talent with tremendous benefits.
The world becomes your talent pool offering access to the most qualified employees for the job. Secondly, you’re likely to spend fewer resources doing it. For instance, many African countries have a younger population with higher unemployment. This means more highly qualified personnel are ready to fill your staff shortages.
