The following industries will need workers urgently in the next 5 to 10 years in Germany! The aging workforce will become a crisis for companies.
Germany has an aging workforce! Almost 20% of the workers in Germany are over 55 and will be retiring in the next 5 to 10 years! Find out below the job market sectors in Germany that are urgently in need of workers!
Germany’s aging workforce: A lot of people will retire in the next 5 to 10 years!
Aging workforce trends: Almost every fourth employee is currently over 55 years old, according to a new study by the research institute IW. So you’re retiring soon!
►More than 2 million of them are leaving professions in which there is already a shortage of skilled workers.
The following sectors of the jobs market in Germany are particularly in great need:
1. Transportation
There is currently a shortage of around 80,000 truck drivers, and another 180,000 in the next 10 years – because many truck drivers are retiring (see the table below).
2. Construction
Desperately wanted: excavator drivers! Around 18,000 will retire by 2030. Crane drivers are also missing more than 6000!
3. Health and social affairs
Around 13,000 specialists are retiring in nursing and geriatric care as well as in the educational professions. Means: even more need for nursing staff!
4. Education
Around 80,000 additional positions for primary, high school and vocational school teachers will become vacant in the next few years!
*Number of workers retiring in the next ten years. Sources: KOFA/IW
This is good news for employees: If you are well trained, you can choose between many job offers. According to the employment agency, it currently takes an average of 223 days to fill an advertised position in geriatric care. Managers spend an average of 207 days looking for a plumber job and 171 days for a painting job! Experts are therefore certain: Significant wage increases are possible for employees in the future!
For the economy and those affected (e.g. pensioners, students), the shortage of skilled workers is devastating: there is a lack of nurses, teachers, etc. According to the DIHK trade association, the shortage is costing companies around 90 billion euros.
The IW experts also advise companies to keep older employees in the job beyond retirement age, such as offer flexible working hours, more part-time work, more holidays and the possibility of working from home.
For their part, politicians are trying to lure early retirees back into employment: seniors who have not yet reached the statutory retirement age are allowed to earn up to 46,060 euros per year.
Germany’s aging workforce: THESE job market sectors are the most urgently sought after in Germany
| JOB | RETIREES BY 2032* |
|---|---|
| Truck driver | 180 000 |
| Teaching (Gymnasium) | 52 542 |
| Technical production management | 23 069 |
| Teaching (vocational school) | 18 495 |
| Excavator driver | 17 732 |
| Teaching (elementary school) | 8916 |
| Specialists educators/social work | 8074 |
| Physical therapy | 7052 |
| Crane operator | 6442 |
| Mail delivery (line) | 6255 |
| IT network technology | 5539 |
| Specialists in nursing and geriatric care | 5348 |
| Housekeeping | 4824 |
| Chemical and pharmaceutical technology | 4535 |
| Doctors | 4404 |
| Market vendor | 4313 |
| Rail professionals | 3538 |
| Textile manufacture | 3391 |
| Civil engineering specialists | 3353 |
| Metal construction | 3117 |
| Cleaning (line) | 3032 |
| Waste disposal | 2492 |
| Elderly care executives | 2269 |
| Agriculture | 1734 |
| Property and fire protection | 1432 |
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The consequences that Germany’s and European aging workforce have
Over the next 20 years, the European population is expected to grow significantly older over the next 20 years. The number of retirees will grow compared to the working age population. The average age of people within the labor force will rise. The percentage of workers between 55 and 64 will increase by a third within the next 20 years.
According to projections by the OECD and the European Commission, the percentage of older workers in the E.U. will remain relatively constant at 22 percent.
