The issue of a shortage of skilled workers is certainly not new, but it’s not a problem as long as it doesn’t affect you personally! However, companies that rely exclusively on skilled professionals must now manage the feat of replacing only those employees who are taking their well-deserved retirement. This applies above all to small and medium-sized enterprises located not in metropolitan areas but in more rural regions.
If a company is innovative and successful to boot, recruiting additional skilled workers becomes a veritable competition in which far more factors are decisive than corporate success, skill, and ingenuity. We are talking here about a range of factors arising from the regional situation, which, however, cannot be influenced by companies—or only indirectly so. If a company is innovative and successful to boot, recruiting additional specialists becomes a veritable competition, in which far more factors are decisive than corporate success, skill, and ingenuity. We are referring here to a range of factors arising from the regional situation, which, however, cannot be influenced by companies—or only indirectly.
Our company has been extremely successful for 30 years now because we specialize in the development and construction of energy-saving plants and systems, and demand for this technology is growing steadily due to global trends in energy costs. So far, so good… who doesn’t like to be successful? In today’s climate, however, the question arises: Where on earth do we find the highly qualified employees necessary for our continued growth? We are not a conglomerate, but a medium-sized company with 330 employees. Our headquarters are not in Cologne, but in Lindlar, in the scenic Bergisches Land…but in the countryside! For us, therefore, the top priority is recruiting employees with the appropriate qualifications and in the necessary numbers.
From the company’s side, we’re already coming up with a lot of ideas to address this issue, at least to some extent. Today more than ever, we must not only be an attractive employer but also communicate this to our target audience through an appropriate public image. We simply have to talk about it more. Even if we are as innovative as can be, globally successful with our products and services, and rated and honored as outstanding in a wide variety of business competitions—if no one else knows this besides us, it does very little to help us attract new employees.
So the motto is: “Be an attractive employer and talk about it!” The opportunities for doing so are diverse and range from placing company news in the local press to establishing an online presence.
An often underestimated pool of professionals can be found among older people. Our managing partner, Wolfgang Oehm, recognized the value of this age group for our company years ago: “To me, older employees are like stainless steel—not scrap metal!” Older employees, in particular, bring a wealth of experience, are highly reliable, and are less susceptible to setbacks. Moreover, because of their life and professional experience, they truly appreciate the value of a good, secure job.
The healthy mix of older, experienced employees and younger employees has developed into a model of success for us over many years. After all, we’re talking about a large portion of the approximately 150 employees we’ve brought out of unemployment over the years who were already over 50 years old. As a medium-sized company, we see it as our social responsibility to give older job seekers in particular a chance. And believe me, it feels incredibly good to see how a person who was just struggling to make ends meet suddenly has room for a smile on their face again and can rejoice in a secure job that feels like a second home.
Another key focus of our company is the training of young talent. Well-trained people are simply our greatest asset and an essential prerequisite for maintaining Germany as a business location! With an apprenticeship rate of approximately 10 percent, our apprentices have the opportunity to acquire qualifications beyond the standard training framework, allowing them to start their professional careers with the best possible foundation. The “Top Training Company” competition, in which we were awarded the Cologne Chamber of Crafts’ honorary prize from among more than 33,000 member companies, is certainly excellent publicity for our company, as impressively reflected by the large number of applicants for the available apprenticeship positions.
We believe we are doing a great deal to attract and train skilled workers, and yet even we are unable to fill all open positions with skilled workers! A major obstacle here is certainly the regional structure and the perceived lack of appeal of rural areas, particularly among the 20- to 45-year-old age group. Politicians certainly have a role to play here when it comes to creating fast transportation links to metropolitan areas. In many places, districts and municipalities have recognized the problem and set some initiatives in motion—but implementation takes time! For us, this creates the need to utilize every opportunity and explore new avenues to keep the skilled labor shortage at the lowest possible level for our company—a real challenge that we must face with even greater determination, both now and in the future!
