Vdma, the trade association representing companies in the German mechanical engineering industry, recently published a survey showing that, of the more than 400 personnel managers in the mechanical and plant engineering sector surveyed, 62 percent expect to hire additional skilled workers in the coming months. 44 percent, in turn, would like to expand their job offerings for engineers and IT experts. To a somewhat lesser extent, jobs for qualified workers from non-technical fields are to be expanded.
Bottlenecks in the labor market remain a challenge. Even though these have eased slightly compared to the spring, around 70 percent of companies report severe shortages of technical skilled workers. In the case of engineers, almost every second company surveyed continues to feel severe bottlenecks. The high demand for labor in Germany has also led to a slight increase in fluctuation at many companies over the past twelve months.
“In machinery and equipment manufacturing there is a wide range of exciting, crisis-proof and also meaningful jobs. Employees at our companies are currently heavily involved in digitization, climate-friendly technologies and the mobility revolution. Machinery and equipment manufacturing stands for many green tech jobs. Almost a quarter of all workers in Germany involved in the production of environmental protection goods are employed in mechanical engineering“, says Hartmut Rauen, deputy managing director of the Vdma.
