Bottleneck Vacancies in Germany

Bottleneck Vacancies in Germany Germany s biggest sectors affected most by recruiting difficulties Approximately eight out of the 20 most important bottleneck vacancies relate to Germany s two biggest industrial branches: the electrical industry as well as the mechanical and plant engineering sector. On the other hand the health and caring sector shows serious bottlenecks in five occupations. The rest of the top-20 bottlenecks occur in ICT and mainly in other service sectors. Most bottleneck vacancies have been persistent or have even been gaining weight since 2007. Germany 2012 Population: 81.9m Workforce: 43.9m Unemployment: 5.6% Unmet labour demand mainly in STEM Among the 20 bottleneck vacancies in Germany, the vast majority of occupations belong to the class of highly skilled workers located in the above mentioned branches. There are only four occupations classified as skilled manual ; these belong to the electrical industry, mechanical and plant engineering sector and ICT sector. The only two occupations classified as skilled non-manual are bank tellers and related clerks on the one hand and personal care workers in health care on the other hand. Lack of qualified candidates as the main reason for bottlenecks The main reason for bottleneck vacancies is labour shortage. Particularly vacancies for highly skilled engineers as well as health and care professions and ICT experts often cannot be filled due to a lack of candidates with adequate technical competencies and skills. In the health and care sector the bottlenecks can also be explained by unfavourable conditions for nurses, midwives and personal care workers, especially for elderly people. In particular working hours and tasks do not seem paid adequately. TOP 20 Bottleneck Vacancies in Germany in 2011* Occupation (ISCO-08) Electrical engineers Mechanical engineers Building and related electricians Generalist medical practitioners Specialist medical practitioners Nursing professionals Midwifery professionals Development since 2007 Existing programmes aiming to meet current and future needs of the labour market Various mitigation strategies are undertaken at the national level. For the promotion of STEM occupations, several programmes were designed and are being implemented aiming at sparking children s interest for STEM occupations as well as reducing drop-out rates in STEM studies. In the health sector, the recruitment of foreign skilled labour has gained in significance in recent years. Encouraging skilled immigration and recruitment from abroad are very significant crosssectoral strategies in Germany, being promoted through a series of legislative acts and partnership agreements. Several programmes are in place in order to attract health and care professionals particularly from Eastern regions of the EU and from Asia. Assessment of available evidence Electronics mechanics and servicers ICT installers and servicers Bank tellers and related clerks Engineering professionals not elsewhere... Policy administration professionals Civil engineers Commercial and sales representatives Database designers and administrators Computer network professionals Structural-metal preparers and erectors Mechanical engineering technicians Electrical engineering technicians Personal care workers in health services not elsewhere specified Medium. See page 5 for more information. *Note: a ranking of the occupations was not possible (see page 5) Page 1

Top 20 Bottleneck Vacancies In contrast to most EU countries, the latest European Debt Crisis had less impact on the German economy, which has maintained positive GDP rates since 2010. The positive development of the German economy was accompanied by declining unemployment rates, reducing the recruiting pool for employers. Most of the bottleneck vacancies appear in technical occupations on the highly skilled level. However, employers do not only have placement difficulties for engineers, but also for related non-academic technical occupations. In IV/2011 there were around 77,000 occupations to be filled with highly skilled STEM graduates and almost twice as many for skilled manual technical occupations. The demand is mainly derived from the electrical industry as well as the mechanical and plant engineering sector. Both sectors have been significantly benefiting from a steady world-wide demand for German engineering solutions. Since the mentioned industries are mainly situated in the western states, the shortages are mainly concentrated here. With regards to the technical disciplines, three ICT occupations also appear on the list of the top 20 bottleneck vacancies. After the technical occupations, there are serious shortages of highly skilled doctors, nurses and midwives. The lack of doctors refers to hospital doctors as well as resident doctors, especially in rural areas. The bottleneck on skilled manual personal care workers only includes care personnel for the elderly; this shortage is forecasted to increase due to demographic development. In addition to the technical and the health and care occupations, three bottleneck occupations on different skill levels could be identified (bank tellers and related clerks, policy administration professionals and commercial sales representatives). The development of the shortages differs greatly between the 20 occupations. It can be stated that the situation for certain types of engineers and technicians relaxed somewhat between 2007 and 2011, while the labour shortage in the health and care sector increased. A ranking of the occupations was not possible. (see page 5) Rank Bottleneck Vacancies ISCO-08 Number of Employed in Occupation 2011 Skills level (ISCO-08) Geographical aspects - Electrical engineers 72,933 HS Industrial regions - Mechanical engineers 71,224 HS Industrial regions - Building and related electricians 225,511 SM - Generalist medical practitioners 110,525 HS - Specialist medical practitioners N/A HS - Nursing professionals 631,383 HS - Midwifery professionals 9,103 HS - Electronics mechanics and servicers N/A SM - Information and communications technology installers and servicers 145,426 SM - Bank tellers and related clerks 510,206 SNM N/A - Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified N/A HS Industrial regions - Policy administration professionals 601,295 HS N/A - Civil engineers 42,936 HS - Commercial sales representatives N/A HS - Database designers and administrators 5,921 HS - Computer network professionals 7,048 HS - Structural-metal preparers and erectors 314,827 SM Industrial regions - Mechanical engineering technicians 835,863 HS Industrial regions - Electrical engineering technicians 194,082 HS Industrial regions - Personal care workers in health services not elsewhere classified 245,159 SNM Elem:Elementary, SNM: Skilled non-manual, SM: Skilled manual, HS= Highly skilled Page 2

Main sectors with Bottleneck Vacancies Sectors Electrical industry and mechanical and plant engineering sector Healthcare Bottleneck Vacancies Electrical engineers, Mechanical engineers, Building and related electricians, Electronics mechanics and servicers, Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified, Electronics mechanics and servicers, Structural-metal preparers and erectors, Mechanical engineering technicians, Elect r i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s Medical doctors, nurses, midwives Most bottlenecks are found in the electrical industry as well as the mechanical and plant engineering sector. These sectors are the fundamental pillars of Germany s economic growth. As a consequence the demand for engineers, technicians and mechanics etc. remains high. On the other hand the health and care sector faces serious placement problems in hospitals, but also for out-patient treatments. Bottleneck problems in engineering industries The electrical industry as well as the mechanical plant engineering sector are fundamental to Germany s economic performance. Both sectors have been experiencing significant economic growth resulting in a rising demand for highly skilled as well as skilled manual STEM labour force. The high demand for STEM labour will increase in the future not only due to the growth in these sectors, but also since a high proportion of engineers is currently close to retirement. On the supply side, the number of STEM graduates is only slightly increasing. High drop-out rates among STEM students as well as relatively low interest in STEM occupations, particularly among women and girls, are the main drivers of bottleneck vacancies in engineering industries. Reasons for Bottleneck Vacancies Lack of required formal qualifications The majority of bottleneck vacancies remain unfilled due to a lack of technical competencies: there are too few people in the workforce with the required formal qualifications. There are two main reasons for this: a shrinking workforce and the career choices young people make. This is especially true for bottleneck occupations such as engineers, technicians, mechanics or ICT professionals. High drop-out rates among STEM students as well as relatively low interest in STEM occupations, particularly among women and girls, are the main drivers of bottleneck vacancies in engineering industries. Unfavourable conditions such as low salary Reasons for hard-to-fill-vacancies in the health and care sector vary between occupations. Unfavourable conditions including low salary and shift work or unsociable hours are the major reasons for shortages of nurses, midwives and personal care workers. Bottleneck vacancies for doctors can be partly attributed to regulation structures (limited university places for medical students and the legal framework for resident doctors). Replacement demand Replacement demand is strong for STEM occupations as well as for doctors. Between 1993 and 2012 the average age of resident doctors rose from 47 to 53 years. During the same time period, hospital doctors average age increased from 38 to 42 years. Although there is no fixed retiring-age for this occupation, experts state that in Western Germany 50% of the resident doctors would need to be replaced soon. Evidence suggests that general practice is unpopular among medicine-students, partly due to regulation, but especially because they prefer doing their specialisation in hospitals in cities. Page 3

Initiatives to deal with Bottleneck Vacancies According to an employer survey by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the main employer strategy to deal with recruitment difficulties is to distribute the work from open vacancies to the current personnel stock. This is especially true for businesses in labour-intensive sectors such as the health and care sector. However in technical occupations increasing the work load of the actual personnel is also a common strategy when employers experience hard-to-fill vacancies. On the federal political level, labour shortage has gained more and more importance in recent years. In June 2011 the German government presented a national strategy ( Fachkräftekonzept ) aimed at the mitigation of bottleneck vacancies. It covers various initiatives and programmes monitored by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Programmes and actions directly relating to bottleneck vacancies can be divided into four groups of key strategies as described below. Sector-specific activities Several initiatives were implemented to increase the number of STEM graduates. While MINT Zukunft schaffen was designed to raise the attractiveness of STEM occupations among pupils, mentoring programmes like MINToring aim to reduce drop-outs among STEM students. Also, there are gender-specific programmes to attract women s and girls interest for STEM occupations. In the care sector for the elderly, a pact between the federal and state governments and concerned associations was made to improve working conditions. The pact also led to regional service points offering consulting services for personal care workers and health care schools. Skilled immigration The recruitment of foreign labour has recently gained in significance. Legal regulations in terms of residency rights and employment permits were eased for (potential) skilled workers from outside the EU for both academic and non-academic qualifications. Furthermore, new regulations for the recognition of foreign qualifications were introduced, facilitating the employment of foreign labour in Germany. In addition, several partnership agreements were signed with selected EU and non-eu countries in order to raise labour market mobility to Germany. Finally, the online platform Make it in Germany was launched to spark foreigners interest. Regional networks In Berlin a central innovation office Skilled employees in the region (Fachkräfte in der Region) was set up by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in cooperation with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. It identifies and supports regional networks consisting of various actors (employers, trade unions, employers associations etc.) in order to establish new cooperation schemes to reduce labour shortages. Numerous regional networks have been established. The innovation office organises events and workshops for networks to develop regional solutions. The networks can also use the web-based statistical tool Labour market monitor (Arbeitsmarktmonitor) run by the PES to view bottlenecks in their region. Information platforms Employers having difficulties with filling vacancies can access a web portal (http:// www.kompetenzzentrum- fachkraeftesicherung.de/) that provides practical advice as well as best practice examples on recruitment strategies. This online platform is of particular relevance to small and medium sized businesses. In addition to the website, regional informational events are offered. Another online platform (www.fachkräfteoffensive.de) provides information and several tools to employers and employees. Regarding health care services for the elderly, an online platform was launched providing information on training and working conditions in the health and care sector, with the aim of developing more attractive working conditions. Page 4

Main sources used to identify Bottleneck Vacancies in Germany Bottleneck vacancies were identified using data from the following report: FDZ-Methodenreport 03/2013 published by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the research institute of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). This report covers the period 2006 2011 and uses data on vacancies per occupation from a yearly employer survey (IAB-EGS) and PES-data on unemployed per occupation. The survey also includes data on unexpected recruitment time and difficulties in vacancy filling. Although the existing data quality for defining the bottleneck vacancies is sufficient, there were difficulties in translating the classification of occupations used in the survey to the ISCO-08-classification. Thus a valid ranking of the top 20 bottleneck vacancies was not possible. In addition, the numbers of employed per occupation were partially only available in a third classification of occupations and partially do not include self-employed. Information on characteristics and underlying reasons as well as mitigation strategies were drawn from further studies, reports and surveys. This information was then complemented by five interviews with experts from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and various employers associations and institutes. Overall, the data quality is assessed to be reasonable (medium). The written employer survey IAB-EGS is conducted annually and includes 15,000 employers and is the only representative source for vacancies in Germany. Data on registered vacancies only cover approximately half of all vacancies. Therefore studies based on registered vacancies were only used in specific cases, e.g. to look at regional aspects. Firstly, bottleneck occupations were identified by means of an indicator (unemployed to vacancies ratio) and the selection of those displaying values smaller than 1. The data on unemployed by occupation is provided by PES and includes information on occupation for about 90% of the registered unemployed. To supplement the list bottleneck occupations, the data on unexpected recruiting time and difficulties in recruiting from the mentioned employer survey was additionally used as an indicator. These indicators could not be used in the first place because numbers become too small if the analysis is conducted at the level of occupations. Finally the list of bottleneck occupations was translated from a national, rather rough classification to the ISCO-08 classification on a 4-digit level. Therefore some national designations had to be split into two or more ISCO-occupations. Sources Kubis A., Müller A., FDZ-Methodenreport 03/2013, Datenkompendium - Kernindikatoren der IAB-Erhebung des Gesamtwirtschaftlichen Stellenangebots (EGS), IAB, 2013, Nürnberg, available at: http://fdz.iab.de/187/ section.aspx/publikation/k130522305 Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Arbeitsmarkt 2012 - Amtliche Nachrichten der Bundesagentur für Arbeit, 60. Jahrgang, Sondernummer 2, 2013, Nürnberg, available at: http://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/statistikdaten/ Detail/201212/ama/heft-arbeitsmarkt/arbeitsmarkt-d-0-pdf.pdf Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, MINT-Frühjahrsreport 2013, Gutachten für BDA, BDI, MINT Zukunft schaffen und Gesamtmetall, 2013, Köln, available at: http://www.iwkoeln.de/de/studien/gutachten/beitrag/ christina-anger-vera-demary-oliver-koppel-axel-pluennecke-mint-fruehjahrsreport-2013-111714 Five Interviews conducted with key stakeholders and experts. Page 5