According to a study, the skills gap among educators and nurses is tense. The situation could become significantly worse, experts warn.
Nurses, educators and social workers have one thing in common: they are lacking across Germany. According to an analysis, around 133,000 vacancies on average in 2023 in health and social professions cannot be filled with suitably qualified unemployed people. This is the result of a study by the Competence Center for Securing Skilled Labor (Kofa) of the employer-friendly German Economic Institute (IW).
Almost a quarter of the overall skills gap is attributable to these areas. According to study author and expert Jurek Tiedemann, the shortage has recently eased slightly, but the situation is still “very tense” and could even worsen considerably in the coming years.
The biggest bottleneck affects educators
The biggest shortage is in the area of educators. Because there was an average shortage of almost 21,000 skilled workers last year, there is a nationwide shortage of around 300,000 childcare places. A structural problem in health and social professions is making this even more difficult: more than 80 percent of employees are female, and more than half work part-time – partly because the skills gap indirectly forces them to do so.
“Working mothers often reduce their working hours to compensate for gaps in childcare,” says Tiedemann. Providing childcare places is the key factor in increasing the working hours of mothers and fathers.
Forecast: At least 280,000 additional nursing staff by 2049
The situation is similarly difficult in social work and education, in health, nursing and elderly care. People whose relatives cannot be cared for due to a lack of skilled workers are only available to a limited extent on the job market, says Tiedemann. Due to the ageing population, demand is also expected to increase here. The Federal Statistical Office assumes that at least 280,000 additional nursing staff will be needed by 2049.
The experts also see positive developments. According to the Federal Institute for Vocational Training, training courses for nursing and childcare workers have the largest number of newly concluded training contracts. However, according to the study, the need for qualified staff is increasing faster than the supply of new skilled workers.
In order to counteract the shortage of skilled workers, it is recommended that incentives for training in health and social professions be further increased. Directly addressing male employees could also help to overcome gender stereotypes and inspire more men to work in a health or social profession, says Tiedemann.
Source: Stern
