Frankfurt am Main/Munich – IG Metall expects employers and policymakers to do more for workers in the skilled trades: “With the energy and mobility transitions, the shortage of skilled workers in the trades threatens to worsen even further. But many of the industry’s fundamental problems are home-grown,” said Ralf Kutzner, executive board member of IG Metall.
On March 8, at the International Crafts Fair in Munich, the “Future Dialogue on the Skilled Trades” will begin at the initiative of IG Metall, bringing together the federal government, skilled trades associations, and labor unions. To this end, IG Metall is calling for greater commitment to training and continuing education and for measures to prevent workers from leaving the sector.
Energy Transition Requires Better Working Conditions
“Workers in the skilled trades support the energy and transportation transitions, as well as the infrastructure needed to achieve them, and are working hard to make them a reality. However, these transitions themselves threaten businesses and policymakers if they further exacerbate the shortage of skilled workers,” said Ralf Kutzner. According to IG Metall, there is already a shortage of 190,000 skilled workers in the energy transition and building renovation sectors alone.
Ralf Kutzner: “The skilled trades sector has less of an image problem and much more of a collective bargaining problem. Union coverage is at a historic low. As a result, working hours are often excessively long, and the wage gap is high, especially among highly qualified workers.” Consequently, two out of three trained workers are turning their backs on the skilled trades and moving to other industries. “There isn’t a shortage of skilled tradespeople. There are simply too few who actually stay in the trades. However, securing a skilled workforce in the skilled trades sector will only succeed with good working and training conditions that are guaranteed by collective bargaining agreements. For years, the promised increase in collective bargaining coverage has been limited to empty rhetoric from the skilled trades associations. At the same time, the government must support fair competition by, for example, awarding public contracts and subsidized renovation projects only to companies that adhere to collective bargaining agreements,” said IG Metall Executive Board member Kutzner.
Policymakers Must Ensure Better Training and Working Infrastructure
Specifically, IG Metall calls for genuine equivalence between academic and vocational education pathways through the mandatory implementation of the German Qualifications Framework (DQR), better resources for vocational schools, affordable housing for apprentices, expansion of the “Aufstiegs-BAföG” (upward mobility grant), and free continuing education or master craftsman training programs. With regard to the skilled trades’ capacity to support the energy transition, IG Metall is calling for digital ecosystems that connect energy consultants, government agencies, funding providers, and the skilled trades sector.
Commenting on the launch of the “Future Dialogue on the Skilled Trades,” IG Metall Executive Board member Ralf Kutzner said: “Workers in the skilled trades deserve more appreciation and a greater sense of commitment from employers and policymakers.”
Further information and press photos of Ralf Kutzner
