Too much bureaucracy and too few skilled workers are slowing down the German economy. The Vice Chancellor and the Crafts President agree on this, but set different accents.
Crafts President Jörg Dittrich has called for more action instead of words from the federal government. The government must reduce bureaucracy, reduce taxes and make Germany competitive again: “We don’t need any more speeches, we need action,” said Dittrich at the start of the International Crafts Fair in Munich. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said the government must do its homework quickly. “The economic situation is challenging.”
He sees the greatest challenge in the labor shortage: it threatens to become a brake on growth, said the Vice Chancellor in his opening speech. In Germany there are now 1.4 million people aged 20 and 30 without a qualifying professional qualification. “The main economic task is to put people to work.” Habeck also admitted: “There are far too many regulations. We have to manage to make it simpler, leaner, more pragmatic.” However, everyone would have to get involved.
Reduction in bureaucracy required
Dittrich said the craft now expects action, “not just understanding.” The mood in the German economy and in the trades is bad. In many companies, the order books emptied. Investments would be slowed down. There is a lack of political reliability. The federal government must act where it is in its own hands: “The bureaucracy is not the fault of Russia or Putin,” said the President of the Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH).
In a current company survey by the ZDH, companies primarily complained about high taxes and duties and too many documentation and proof requirements. This is followed by a shortage of skilled workers and high energy prices.
With a view to 20,000 unfilled training positions, Dittrich also called for a change in educational policy in order to give non-academic educational and career paths more social recognition. To combat the shortage of skilled workers, “qualified and willing immigration” is also needed, said Dittrich: “Everyone who is willing to perform is welcome in the trades.”
The ZDH calls for nationwide career orientation at all types of schools, including high schools. Habeck received great applause at the opening of the trade fair for his announcement that he would campaign for all federal states to organize a craft day in high schools in the future.
How is the energy supply?
According to Dittrich, another concern that is not only on the minds of the trades is a secure and affordable energy supply. There was an exchange of blows between Habeck and the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder at a forum at the opening of the trade fair: The CSU chairman criticized the end of German nuclear power plants as unreasonable and referred to the expansion of nuclear power in other European countries. Habeck said nuclear power was far too expensive. The gas price in Germany is now back to the level before the Ukraine war. Companies could also build more solar roofs and wind turbines on their premises to provide energy.
There are a million craft businesses in Germany with around 5.7 million employees and 350,000 trainees. They generated around 735 billion euros in sales in 2022.
Source: Stern
