Beschreibung

"Transformation pressures driven by digitalisation and decarbonisation are changing the labour market. Despite the currently weak economic development of Germany, the shortage of skilled workers is likely to worsen due to an ageing workforce, even with a high employment rate compared to other countries. At the same time, key manufacturing industries are exhibiting subpar economic performance, and productivity is stagnating. To effectively address these problems, Germany needs to embrace the transformation by actively fostering the transition to new business models and jobs, especially in manufacturing. Greater physical investment is needed, especially in digitalisation, which needs to go along with greater employee mobility and further training for employees. This way, labour productivity can increase significantly, thereby saving on manpower without sacrificing prosperity and simultaneously securing employment in well-paid jobs. Both improvements of and investment in education and vocational training are urgently needed. Otherwise, Germany – the largest European economy – will continue to lose its competitiveness and thus not overcome its sluggish economic growth." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))