Continental: Labour shortage threatening Germany’s social systems

Tyre maker and automotive systems manufacturer Continental has called upon the government of its homeland to adopt immigration policy that is more beneficial to German businesses and the population as a whole. In a statement published today, the company opines that the country’s social systems are “threatening to collapse” and living standards endangered if Germany’s government doesn’t change course.

In particular, Continental is calling for the government to develop a concept for the controlled immigration of foreign workers. It views this as an “important means” of “effectively addressing” the current shortage of skilled labour in Germany. “The impact of demographic change, decarbonisation and digitalisation is huge and can only be roughly anticipated,” says Dr Ariane Reinhart, Executive Board member for Human Relations and Sustainability at Continental.

The company notes that it is “already becoming apparent” that insufficient qualified and skilled workers are available to satisfy the requirements of many industries, and Continental itself seeks around 2,500 skilled workers in Germany this year alone. “The imbalance on the labour market is not only endangering the general standard of living in Germany. Our social systems are also threatening to collapse,” states Reinhart.

Qualified personnel are particularly lacking in the areas of software, IT and logistics. “The financing of our social state is reliant on a robust and growing economy. And to achieve this, we need sufficient available and qualified workers.”

German economy dependent on immigration

According to Continental, greater mobilisation of existing personnel resources and increasing their skills and qualifications won’t be enough to cover this need for skilled workers. “There is no alternative: Germany is in urgent need of controlled immigration. The decisive factor here is that immigrants must become available on the domestic labour market more quickly than in the past and, above all, with little red tape,” demands Reinhart. “We need a legislative framework to ensure this. It currently takes far too long for foreign apprenticeships to be recognised in Germany. But we are also losing valuable time when it comes to the search for accommodation and childcare.”

Concept for rapid labour market integration required

Reinhart is calling upon policymakers, jointly with companies, the German Federal Employment Agency and educational institutions, to develop a concept for adapting immigrants’ qualifications to local requirements. “As a company, we cannot expect, within the context of economic migration, to recruit sufficient qualified people to entirely resolve the shortage of skilled workers,” says Reinhart. “This means that we will need to retrain and upgrade the skills of many immigrants.”

That said, Dr Reinhart expressly warns against focusing exclusively on immigrants when it comes to qualifications. “We need to mobilise the entire labour force and qualify them for the domestic requirements in Germany – not only our own employees, but also, for example, people without formal qualifications or the long-term unemployed. If we do this, we will have a real market for worker opportunities in Germany.”