Valve makers will be threatened by high losses if engineering vacancies remain unfilled. The first companies are already implementing clever strategies to plug the manpower bottleneck.
„A couple of years ago, finding people to fill vacancies wasn’t a problem at all“, remembers Petra Kappelhoff-Woestmann, CEO of Axa Maschinen und Armaturen GmbH & Co. KG. Unfortunately, this is a thing of the past. Filling vacancies “is becoming increasingly difficult and, for a company like ours, also increasingly dangerous, as we depend on skilled workers and professionals.“ Several vacancies remain unfilled at the current moment, emphasises the CEO of the company based in Schoeppingen, Germany.
Numerous valve makers are experiencing the same pains as Axa Maschinen und Armaturen. „Today, there already are serious staffing shortages“, warns Dr. Hannes Hesse, president of German Engineering Federation VDMA. Federations in lots of countries are also complaining about the situation. Germany’s mechanical and plant engineering sector alone is searching for 7000 engineers and qualified technicians. A study named „Skills shortage 2012“ authored by personnel consultancy Manpower Group underscores the perilous development. According to the study, 42 % of German companies are currently having problems finding professional staff – 8 % more than the worldwide average. The largest problem for companies is finding skilled employees in the areas skilled manual labour and engineers. There is a shortage of apprentices for trades – and the amount of engineering vacancies remaining unfilled has nearly doubled in the period from 2010 to 2012. Mechanical engineering and vehicle manufacturing are the most affected, with nearly 37,000 vacancies remaining unfilled. Company profits are taking a hit due to the arduous search for skilled labour. Average vacancy periods of 55 days across the bank and up to 90 days for technical trades result in losses worth billions of euro each year for the German economy.
Immigration concept and education offensive are required
A fatal situation for any company serving the worldwide market, and one requiring a great effort. „In the long run, we can only survive competition in the international market if we have the best minds. Adjusting a single screw just won’t be enough“, states VDMA president Hesse. What is there to be done? One part of the VDMA’s strategy is foreign labour. In the least, they can relieve the shortage.
In addition, an education offensive is required. Children and youths need to be introduced to solving technical problems and natural sciences already during kindergarten and school. „And it is simply inacceptable that we lose nearly every second mechanical engineering student somewhere between the first-year and the final exams“, states Hesse.
Employees important in times of crisis
In times of crisis, the quality of employees makes itself felt. „As a basic requirement for flexibility, a company needs a good capital base and a motivated, communicative and dependable staff“, underlines Dr. Jens Reppenhagen, CEO of RS Roman Seliger Armaturenfabrik. It would also be desirable if the government would create general conditions for competitive companies and give them support. Next to finances, the main topic here is education. Reppenhagen: „Only knowledge and creativity will help us remain a leading industrial nation based on value creation in the international arena.“
Solving problems is not simply left to the governments alone. Federations and companies themselves are on the offensive. German mechanical engineering association Förderkreis Strömungsmaschinen Kaiserslautern e.V. for instance is targeting future engineers. The association arranges company visits, lectures and excursions, serving as an intermediary between companies and students. Students are supported through donations, including scholarships and by giving prizes for final theses and term papers.
Scholarships and internships
Valve association Armaturenkompetenz Ruhr has tasked itself with giving qualified and motivated students both financial and educational support. After its premiere two years ago, a scholarship for two terms was awarded in 2012 to a student studying an engineering course at a university situated in the Ruhrgebiet. Having fun solving technical challenges and especially proactiveness are characteristic for scholarship students. In addition, Armaturenkompetenz, consisting of companies Böhmer, Bomafa Armaturen, Herberholz, Klaus Union and Zwick Armaturen, offers an internship of at least three months in one of the member companies. The association also understands itself as a platform for the overall implementation of industrial valves.
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