Betriebliche Qualifikationsanforderungen und Probleme bei der Besetzung von Fachkräftestellen : Auswertungen aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2013

"The German economy again grew in 2013. German establishments rated the economic environment as positive and have continued to create jobs since 2005. In such a positive economic environment recruiting skilled personnel turns out to be more difficult than in times of economic downturns. Establishments can react in different ways to the problem of filling job vacancies. They can, for example, compromise on the way they fill their vacancies or they can invest more resources in initial or continuing vocational training. The data of the IAB-Establishment Panel indicates that in times of employment growth, the demand for skilled personnel and the job vacancy rate have stabilized at a high level. Establishments had problems particularly in filling job vacancies that required a university degree. Filling job vacancies that require a professional qualification has turned out to be less complicated but increasingly more difficult compared to 2008. Very small establishments in particular had problems - especially with the recruitment of highly qualified personnel. Altogether establishments were mostly able to cover their qualified personnel needs. Every third establishment stated that they had to make compromises when recruiting skilled personnel. In particular they accepted higher job induction inputs or relaxed their professional qualifications standards. They rarely tended to compromise on remuneration or working hours. New are the increasing difficulties in filling training vacancies. Both the proportion of establishments with problems filling training vacancies and the extent of these training vacancies have increased. Compared to 2000, for example, the number of establishments experiencing recruitment problems has more than doubled. As with the recruitment of professionals, in 2013 very small establishments were primarily affected. Generally speaking it was not a lack of applications for training vacancies that was responsible, but from the establishments' point of view a lack of suitably qualified applicants. Just over half of the establishments with apprenticeship vacancies rejected applications and indeed mostly because the applicants lacked the necessary educational performance. Many establishments also stated as a reason that the applicants they rejected did not meet job-related requirements. Given this background, groups of applicants that previously had no prospects of being accepted for an apprenticeship now appear to be attracting the attention of establishments a little bit more. Under certain circumstances applicants with poor educational performance get more chances. Applicants with no school qualifications however continue to have very limited opportunities of getting accepted for a vocational training." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))