Employer branding meets skills shortage: Problems homemade?

The specter of a shortage of skilled workers is haunting. Apparently there is a lack of technical specialists. That's not true, say a number of headhunters and HR experts Problems are from the Companies and employers themselves. Who is right?

Are the companies themselves to blame?

Martin Gaedt's book “The Myth of the Shortage of Skilled Workers” is one of the sources of heated debate. Because, according to Gaedt, “there is no such thing as a widespread shortage of skilled workers Rede be". But then why do politicians and Economy constantly from the lack of skilled workers as a central challenge for the Future?

For example, the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, which announced to 2010 that almost 2015 percent of companies would expect a shortage of skilled workers until 50, as well as studies by Forsa or Kienbaum of 2012. So are the companies themselves to blame when they complain about a shortage of skilled workers?

Unserious calculating games

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One thing is certain: according to the Association of German Engineers, there are even no engineers in Germany about 80.000. This number was calculated by the VDI by multiplying the number of jobs reported to the Federal Employment Agency by seven - because according to a survey by 2009 only every seventh job agency is reported.

Dr. Karl Brenke, scientific consultant at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin, recalculated the VDI figures and comes to another conclusion, which he published in the DIW weekly report 11/2012: “If you calculate realistically, you get roughly 20.000 people who retire from engineering every year for reasons of age. But at universities we have graduates in the range of 45.000 to 50.000. This means that the graduates who are currently streaming out of the universities are more than sufficient to meet the replacement needs and an additional need for engineers, ”said Brenke in the DIW weekly report.

Why are companies just not finding the right people?

Aside from all the arithmetic games, there are still companies that just aren't the right ones Employees find. The Headhunter Dirk Ohlmeier reports on a client who was looking for a new manager for six months in vain. The reasons were homemade: “When we qualified the first Candidates presented, let that Feedback The decision-makers have to wait weeks, the interview was also delayed, ”reports Ohlmeier. The candidates orientated themselves differently.

On the other hand, experts also advise companies to get in touch in good time, i.e. when starting out and Further Training, to take care of the offspring, so that the problem of the shortage does not arise in the first place. So ultimately you have to consider the following Ask put:

• So do we have no shortage at the end?
• Where then comes the oblique picture of the skilled labor force?
• And what can companies do that do not find suitable candidates?

Location disadvantages in the middle class

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There are also disadvantages such as location factors. The medium-sized valve manufacturer Hansgrohe, on the other hand, is well aware of its location disadvantage in Schiltach in the Black Forest: “The next largest cities like Stuttgart are about 90 minutes away. You have to come up with something to be attractive as an employer, ”says HR Manager Thomas Egenter.

For example, Hansgrohe offers family-friendly home office jobs and childcare during school holidays. Employees also appear as testimonials in advertisements and YouTube videos. And the company itself looks after the next generation: "In total, we employ around 140 trainees, 40-50 new employees are added every year, and almost all of them are usually taken on," explains Egenter, adding: "So far, we have had problems still cushion when looking for employees. ”

Education and training is important

How important training and Further Training is, the recruitment agency YITP – Young IT Professionals recognized in Heidelberg: It trains the right IT specialists itself - in cooperation with the Federal Employment Agency as well as companies, training providers and universities in Germany and abroad. "We don't just want to mediate, we see the long-term, strategic approach," explains Managing Director Axel Stadtelmeyer.

“Often companies are looking for the perfect candidate. However, headhunters often only postpone the problem, because the laboriously found employees are not uncommon fast gone again. Companies should therefore invest in the further training of their employees invest and actively pursue talent management, then they don’t even have to look for it.”

Problems are homemade?

Martin Gaedt, Founders and Managing Director of YOUNNECT GmbH Berlin, prefers not to get involved in arithmetic games at all, rather he compares the numbers and complaints about the shortage of skilled workers with his personal experiences.

For him, the problem is mainly home-made: companies do not train enough, behave arrogantly towards applicants or have never learned badly to see themselves and their jobs as attractive Brand showcase. For Gaedt, the so-called skills shortage is primarily a mismatch between employers and qualified applicants.

Interview with Headhunter Dirk Ohlmeier

Dirk Ohlmeier confirmed in the interview that many companies are themselves responsible for their misery.

Mr Ohlmeier, from your point of view as Headhunter: Do we have a shortage of skilled workers or not?

You can't say that in general: For some companies, the search for suitable employees for sure more difficult than for others. For example, we had a client from the SME, for which we should recruit a head of project management. The position had been vacant for six months.

What is this?

For various reasons: Many medium-sized companies, for example, are simply unknown to applicants. Or their location is unattractive. Or bad pay. Or the requirements Candidate are unclear or poorly communicated.

You think companies are themselves responsible for the shortage of skilled workers?

In part yes. For example, the head of HR at our head of project management lacked relevant information about the position. The reason is something that we experience very often: The specialist department has numerous requirements for the position. Until the job description, however, these specifications are then reduced to a keyword list, which means that important points are lost or missed Significance verlieren. In the end, no applicant can identify with it anymore.

What can companies do better then?

Take the applicant seriously and no longer treat them like petitioners, but an open one Conversation on eye level to lead. Many companies, on the other hand, ignore qualified candidates because of careless mistakes Curriculum vitae, a bad photo - or because the common thread is not immediately recognizable.

And what can be improved in the application process?

The HR department should precisely coordinate the requirements for applicants with the department head. A recruiting process is also important clear defined times, which include feedback to the candidates, dates for the next process steps, as well as deadlines for a plan B if the vacancy cannot be filled by the company itself in order to anticipate financial effects.

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