COLOGNE (dpa-AFX) - The German automotive industry continues to suffer from an acute shortage of skilled workers despite the crisis in the sector. On average, around 10,300 vacancies remained unfilled in the industry between July 2023 and June 2024, according to a recent study by the Competence Center for Securing Skilled Workers (Kofa) of the German Economic Institute (IW), which is close to employers. Highly qualified experts in particular are still in demand

"Jobs remain unfilled in the automotive industry despite turbulent economic times," said study author Jurek Tiedemann. This is because the demand for skilled workers remains high due to the change in mobility and new technologies. "The industry urgently needs qualified personnel for the digital and ecological transformation." This also applies in economically turbulent times like now.

Business economists, IT specialists and engineers in demand

Compared to the previous year, the skills gap in the industry has narrowed noticeably and has shrunk by almost a third, according to the researchers. However, the number of unfilled vacancies for skilled workers with completed vocational training has actually risen by 7 percent to a good 3,400. In contrast, the number of experts with a university diploma or master's degree has shrunk by 43 percent, but remains at a high level with more than 6,300 unfilled positions. Business economists, computer scientists and engineers are particularly in demand. In addition, there was a shortage of more than 500 specialists such as master craftsmen and specialists.

According to the researchers, the decline in car production has hardly had any impact on employment so far. Although almost 27 percent fewer cars were built in Germany in 2023 than in 2014, the number of employees in the industry has remained largely stable. At 767,000, it was even seven percent higher in 2023 than in 2014. There has only been a minimal decline since the peak in 2019.

Volkswagen recently stated that it could no longer rule out compulsory redundancies and even plant closures due to low capacity utilization and high costs. The works council spoke of tens of thousands of jobs that are under threat at the core VW brand, which currently employs around 120,000 people. Several suppliers such as Continental and ZF have also announced plans to cut jobs./fjo/DP/zb