Overview
- The Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft published a study on Monday that found an average shortfall of 148,047 skilled workers for July 2025–June 2026, with 44 percent of the gap tied to infrastructure, the energy transition and digitalization.
- IW researchers say the tightest bottlenecks are hands‑on trades needed to build and run projects, naming building electrics, sanitary‑heating‑air conditioning (SHK), electrical operation technology and mechanical and plant engineering as most affected.
- BlackRock’s foundation commissioned the IW report and pledged €15 million over five years to training programs, with the study warning that money alone will not create the craft capacity to use the special fund.
- A separate Ifo study released Monday shows German industry cut roughly 496,000 social‑security jobs between early 2019 and end‑2025 while services added about 2.2 million jobs, a shift experts say weakens competitiveness in core manufacturing sectors.
- Policymakers have rolled out measures such as the Invest in Germany summit and Hessen’s ZFEH fast‑lane for skilled immigration, but analysts say wider action on apprenticeships, regional housing, credential recognition and retraining is needed to prevent delays in project delivery.