It would be an advantage if we could bake our own skilled workers. It’s just getting difficult to find bakers, because the skilled trades are also suffering from a shortage of skilled workers. HR managers, politicians and associations are looking anxiously at demographic estimates that predict a further increase in the shortage of skilled workers in the coming years. This also applies to our industries in Saxony, which are actually predicted to have the potential to grow from 81,000 jobs at present to around 100,000 by 2030.
A survey of Silicon Saxony member companies in 2022 showed that in three out of four cases, it now takes at least twice or even three times as long to fill a vacancy compared to five years ago. Studies such as the EU METIS project, which Silicon Saxony accompanied, make it clear that although university graduates often have in-depth specialist knowledge, they need to be individually trained in many practical topics. Their recruitment rarely goes hand in hand with immediate and complete employability. Many companies therefore aim to familiarize young talent with the specific requirements of the company at an early stage – for example through a working student contract – and to retain them in the hope that they will stay on after completing their studies. A concept for which vocational academies were better known in the past.
HR managers are also increasingly relying on the immigration of foreign specialists, the recruitment of lateral entrants who are qualified through further training and specialists with insular talents and a need for inclusion. However, one thing is clear: in order to cushion the demographic development to some extent, we need to position ourselves as broadly as possible. And that starts with the consistent promotion of young talent. There is already a wide range of exciting offers, but we need committed people to help bring them to a wider audience, i.e. to schools and leisure facilities. After all, we need more ground noise to get young people excited about jobs in the high-tech sector and to counteract the trend towards a decline in first-year students from Germany that has been ongoing for years.
Whether it’s joint appearances at careers fairs in Germany and abroad, recruiting formats, student internships, a GTA “Programming with Calliope” or sponsoring a STEM competition. Let’s get young people excited about our products and visions together!
