No matter how the currently struggling German economy develops in the coming years, it will in any case have to fight an acute shortage of qualified labor. This is due to the demographic situation in Germany, which is also typical for many other countries in Europe - in the coming years, the already begun mass retirement of people from the generation of the so-called “baby boomers“ will accelerate sharply. These are those born in the first two decades after the end of World War II.
Buses and trams urgently need drivers
In which professions is the share of workers of pre-retirement age now particularly high? From the official statistics, which report the professions and industries with the highest percentage of people who are at least 55 years old, it becomes clear that these professions are numerous, and often in vital areas. The news is alarming, but there is also something encouraging: in many cases these are professions that do not require higher education, but secondary vocational education, and they do not require particularly good knowledge of German. In other words - migrants can also be hired in these positions.
The problem of replacing retiring workers in the coming years will be particularly acute in public transport, and in the transport sector in general in Germany. Statistics show that bus and tram drivers should be considered first - there the share of people over 55 years old is currently 44 percent. If qualified personnel are not attracted from abroad and migrants who are already in the country are not trained in a very targeted manner, there will be no solution - otherwise public transport in Germany will simply come to a standstill.
Furthermore, 39% of truck drivers are of pre-retirement age. And now a large number of drivers on German autobahns are from Eastern Europe. In the coming years, the share of foreigners will inevitably increase even more, even if the trend of more and more women choosing this profession in Germany itself continues.
Gardeners, cooks and orderlies are urgently needed
There is also a large number of workers aged 55 and over among butchers (36 percent), gardeners (34 percent), bricklayers (30 percent) and cooks (29 percent). According to statisticians, mass retirements of employees will soon also be faced in forestry and fisheries. But all of these are industries in which it is safe to work with minimal knowledge of German.
In the next decade, a quarter of employees in healthcare, trade and manufacturing will also retire. For example, among people caring for the elderly and the sick, the share of those preparing for retirement is 27%. This may not seem like a lot at first glance - for example, compared to drivers. But in this case, the deficit is explained not only by the fact that many are retiring, but also by the rapid increase in people in need of care - due to the aging of society and increasing life expectancy. Therefore, the shortage of personnel in this field will remain particularly high in the future.
The German government has eased labor migration
The education and upbringing sectors, especially kindergartens and schools, are in a similar situation. There, the age structure among teachers and educators is relatively more favorable: only 22 percent of the teaching staff are of pre-retirement age. This means that the chronic shortage of personnel, which the German media constantly writes about, is due to other reasons: staff turnover, low attractiveness of teaching work due to relatively low salaries, and errors in the system for university training of teachers.
Something similar is observed in the field of public catering, where the shortage of personnel is also constant: there, only 19% of people have reached pre-retirement age – that is, the staff is relatively young, and the staffing problems are more due to low pay and high turnover.
In general, the statistical data confirm the right course of the government, which in recent years has adjusted its policy in the field of labor migration and significantly facilitated the arrival in the country not only of highly qualified specialists, but also of workers without higher education. Including those who work in professions in which the share of people over 55 is particularly high.