Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 3, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
“In view of the stagnating number of graduates, this development, which is welcome at first glance, has serious side effects,” said VDI Director Dr. Willi Fuchs. “Many companies cannot fill their vacancies, or can do so only after a delay – the shortage of technical specialists is increasingly paralysing Germany as a business location.”
According to a current VDI survey, one in two members fears that the shortage of engineers will cause companies to move abroad. One in four engineers surveyed believes that Germany’s position as an IT location will deteriorate by 2015. “Nokia is only the latest negative example. We must stop this trend – otherwise Germany will soon no longer be playing in the Bundesliga for IT and high-tech products, but in the district league,” Fuchs warned.
National technology council to take countermeasures
The VDI sees combating the shortage of skilled workers as a joint task for politics, business and society. “We are therefore calling for the establishment of a National Technology Council,” Fuchs said. “It should bring together the interests of all those involved and develop results that can be put to use quickly, especially to counter the shortage of skilled workers.” Action is needed above all in three areas: technology teaching in schools, systematic continuing education in business and simplified immigration for highly qualified workers. Council participants are to include high-ranking representatives of federal and state politics as well as leading representatives of business and associations.
Politicians in particular have a duty to implement the measures. Changes are needed especially in school education. “Technology and computer science must be integrated more strongly into school lessons,” Fuchs emphasised. “Technology lessons must become a compulsory subject.” According to a current EMNID survey, more than 80 percent of the German population agreed with this demand.
Optical technologies and nanotechnology as growth drivers
According to the VDI survey, 40 percent of experts already see Germany’s IT sector as no more than mediocre. Despite this critical assessment, Fuchs considers pessimism excessive: “Germany still has every opportunity. I see great potential for growth markets, especially in optical technologies and nanotechnology.” In optical technologies alone, where Germany is the world market leader, revenue is expected to rise by 8.5 percent annually until 2015, and by as much as 15 percent for IT products.
Germany is the European leader in nanotechnology. At least 50,000 jobs in German companies are already focused on nanotechnological developments. “It will be the key technology of the 21st century,” Fuchs is convinced. For IT products, it is particularly important for data storage, for example on computer hard drives, MP3 players and diode lasers. “A growth market with great opportunities. But here, too, the shortage of skilled workers threatens to slow growth. It is now high time for the National Technology Council to set the course for a successful future.”
Further information:
- VDI
