Bottleneck Vacancies in Liechtenstein

Transcription

1 Bottleneck Vacancies in Liechtenstein Shortages mainly in highskilled STEM occupations Given the positive economic conjuncture Liechtenstein is experiencing, a low unemployment rate (2.4%) is coupled with positive inflow and crossbordermobility of skilled labour force from neighbouring countries such as Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Liechtenstein 2013 Population: 0.037m Workforce: 0.019m Unemployment: 2.4% Despite this trend, some bottleneck vacancies are present. According to employers surveys conducted by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce since 2001 bottlenecks mainly affect highly skilled science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations. Skilled manual occupations in crafts and trades such as brick layers, carpenters, painters or plasterers are also affected. Rising demand for skilled workers in the building and construction sector According to an interviewed expert the growing demand for skilled manual labour force in crafts and trades relates to the building and construction sector that has grown since Although the number of labourers employed in said sectors has risen by 8.2% between 2009 and 2012, not all vacancies could be filled due to a lack of candidates possessing the required technical competencies. Lack of technical competencies as the main reason The main reason for bottleneck vacancies regarding high skill jobs to be filled with STEM labourers is skill shortages. With regards to skilled manual workers, reasons identified include candidates not possessing the required competencies and skills, combined with unattractive working conditions, e.g. limited career opportunities and below market salaries, discourage potential candidates from taking up these jobs. Joint strategies include vocational training TOP 20 Bottleneck Vacancies in Liecthenstein 2013* Occupation (ISCO08) Engineering professionals (excluding electrotechnology) Electrotechnology engineers Software and applications developers and analysts Bricklayers and related workers Carpenters and joiners Plasterers Painters and related workers Development since 2008 Even though the issue with bottlenecks is not a high political priority, several actors (Chamber of Industry and Commerce, employers, schools) joined forces to increase the supply of labourers meeting employers needs by: sparking pupil s interest, particularly among female pupils in STEM occupations; Raising the attractiveness of skilled manual jobs by advertising the merits of the vocational training system; Promoting cooperation among the government and the employers in terms of the recruitment of foreign labour force. Assessment of available evidence Medium. See page 5 for more information. *Note: a ranking of the occupations was not possible (see page 5) Page 1

2 Top 20 Bottleneck Vacancies The list of bottlenecks was compiled combining data gathered by the Liechtenstein Chamber of Industry and Commerce through employers surveys asking for hardtofillvacancies and experts opinions. As data were not sufficiently detailed, they have been used as a basis for expert interviews in order to identify specific occupations according to the ISCO08 system. After an economic breakdown in 2009, Liechtenstein s economy has recovered very fast with unemployment decreasing by 0.4% between 2009 and 2012 down to 2.4%. One possible explanation for this phenomenon could be the country s extraordinary employment structure characterised by high proportions of foreign labour force that might have served as regulating factor of the labour market situation. In 2012 almost one half of all employees occupied in Liechtenstein were not of Liechtenstein origin, mainly coming from Switzerland (51.8%), Austria (44.1%) and Germany (3.2%). While not being the country s leading economic sector, the building and construction sector has had the highest increase in employed labour force (+8.2%) between 2009 and According to experts opinion the rise in employees could have even been double digits, but not all vacancies could be filled due to a lack of candidates possessing the required technical competencies. This mainly relates to skilled manual labourers such as brick layers, carpenters, painters or plasterers which represent more than half of the identified bottlenecks. Additionally, employers surveys conducted by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce reveal that bottleneck vacancies mainly affect high skill STEM occupations such as engineers of all disciplines, particularly civil engineers and electrical engineers as well as computer scientists. Data provided by the Liechtenstein Chamber of Industry and Commerce did not allowed to draw a ranking. Moreover, only seven bottleneck occupations could be identified. Rank Bottleneck Vacancies ISCO08 Number of Employed in Occupation 2012 Skills level (ISCO08) Engineering professionals (excluding electrotechnology) N/A HS Electrotechnology engineers N/A HS Software and applications developers and analysts N/A HS Bricklayers and related workers N/A SM Carpenters and joiners N/A SM Plasterers N/A SM Painters and related workers N/A SM Elem:Elementary, SNM: Skilled non manual, SM: Skilled manual, HS= High skilled Page 2

3 Main sectors with Bottleneck Vacancies Sectors Building and Construction ICT Bottleneck vacancies Brick layers, carpenters, painters, plaserers Software and applications developers and analysts The building and construction sector has been experiencing positive economic growth since 2009 resulting in an increasing demand for labour force. As a consequence, the number of vacancies to be filled with high skilled civil engineers as well as with skilled manual laboureres has been on the rise. An insufficient supply of these profiles left the economy with hardtofill vacancies. Bottleneck problems in Growth Sectors The number of employees occupied in the ICT sector had declined by approximately 3% between 2009 and 2012, nevertheless computer scientists such as software developers and analysts are listed among the top 3 bottleneck vacancies in Liechtenstein according to an employers survey conducted by the Liechtenstein Chamber of Industry and Commerce in While the health and care sector has experienced an extraordinary growth between 2009 and 2012, no bottlenecks are reported suggesting that domestic supply and inflows as well as crossbordermobility from other countries succeeded in keeping up with the demand. Main reasons for Bottleneck Vacancies Lack of hard skills technical competencies The main reason behind the existence of bottleneck vacancies for highskilled STEM workers is a lack of technical competencies on the part of job candidates. With regards to skilled manual workers, particularly in the building and construction sector a combination of two factos is reported by experts. On the one hand, candidates do not possess the required comeptencies and skills. On the other hand, unattractive working conditions, e.g. limited career paths and opportunities as well as below market salaries, discourage potential workers to take up these jobs. Page 3

4 Initiatives to cope with Bottleneck Vacancies Even though the issue of closing the identified bottlenecks is not among the political priorities of the government given the rather limited size of the problem, several efforts are being taken by numerous actors in order to increase the supply of highskilled STEM labourers as well as skilled manual tradesmen related to the building and construction sector. According to experts assessment actions are aimed at developing the right skills as demanded by employers and at increasing the attractiveness of certain occupations. The main target groups are represented by female pupils as well as female and elder employees. Skills Strategies In order to decrease recruitment difficulties in highskilled STEM occupations several measures are being taken in order to spark pupil s interest, particularly among female pupils in STEM occupations. Therefore, employers in association with schools organise internships and recruitment fairs in order to raise the attractiveness of STEM occupations. Concerning skilled manual jobs in trades and crafts mainly related to the building and construction sector, employers associations, the government as well school representatives have been intensifying their efforts in advertising the merits of the vocational training system. For instance, employers associations focus on promoting career paths and opportunities as well as on improving wages in order to raise pupil s interest for these jobs. Working conditions Recruitment Given that wages are already among the highest in Europe, employers focus their efforts in improving the working conditions, with a particular emphasis on flexible schedules. This helps reducing early retirement among STEM engineers. Consistently with the aim to bring more women into the labour market and increase their participation, the government and employers provide significant funding to child care institutions. Given the small size of the economy, Liechtenstein is highly dependent on foreign labour force to fill vacancies in all the sectors. As the immigration policy is restrictive, recruitment of foreign labour force is mainly limited to neighbouring countries such as Switzerland, Austria and Germany. In this context crossbordermobility is highly relevant. Page 4

5 Main sources used to identify Bottleneck Vacancies in Liechtenstein According to the Liechtenstein Office of Economic Affairs (Amt für Volkswirtschaft), there is no official statistical data available allowing for the identification of bottleneck vacancies. Therefore, the determination of hardtofill vacancies was done by using two main sources: Shortlist of bottleneck vacancies created by the Liechtenstein Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Wirschaftskammer Liechtenstein für Gewerbe, Handel und Dienstleistung); Experts opinion of hardtofill vacancies presented in interviews. Information on the characteristics of bottleneck vacancies as well as underlying reasons were obtained via expert interviews. Information on mitigation strategies was also obtained at this point. In general, experts assessments were validated through desk research by reviewing statistical data provided by the Liechtenstein Office of Economic Affairs (Amt für Volkswirtschaft) as well as the screening of newspaper articles. Overall, the data quality is assessed to be medium. The collection of statistical data allowing for the determination of bottleneck vacancies in Liechtenstein is limited. The Liechtenstein Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Wirschaftskammer Liechtenstein für Gewerbe, Handel und Dienstleistung) compiles a list of bottleneck vacancies on an annual basis. The level of representativity of this list, however, cannot be fully assessed since only the chamber s member companies participate in surveys. Moreover, data are not sufficiently detailed to lead to the identification of precise occupations within the sectors. This is the reason why interviews with experts were conducted, constituting a complementary source of identification. Sources Amt für Statistik (2013). Beschäftigungsstatistik Amt für Statistik: Vaduz. Interviews conducted with key stakeholders and experts. Page 5