Shortage of skilled workers in technical professions further exacerbated

By definition, a shortage of skilled workers exists when there are more jobs available for a given occupation than there are qualified people who could occupy them. While this is an attractive situation for the few workers in the relevant sectors, from a macroeconomic point of view, a shortage of skilled labour has a negative impact on the economic performance and innovative capacity of companies and society as a whole.

The skills shortage index is an important key figure

The annual survey of the labour market situation has been conducted since 2016 by the Sociological Institute of the University of Zurich in collaboration with the Adecco Group Switzerland. The used data stems from the quarterly Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index, better known as the Job Index. This measure of development in the Swiss job market is recognised throughout the country as being scientifically sound.
The Swiss Skills Shortage Index considered in this study is calculated by the ratio between vacant and filled positions for a specific occupation. This shows how severe the shortage of skilled workers is in this profession, but it does not allow conclusions to be drawn as to how great the shortage (or oversupply) is compared with other professions. To make this possible, the calculated ratio is multiplied by a weighting factor that represents the size of the occupational field. Data is taken from the aforementioned Job Index as well as from job placement figures and labour market statistics. For the current report, the period between December of last year and September 2019 was considered.

Increasing acute shortage in engineering, technical and fiduciary professions

Unfortunately, the overall situation has not improved in recent years: since 2016, the Swiss Skills Shortage Index has risen by 22% across all of Switzerland. As in the previous year, engineering professions such as construction and electronics engineers have been hit hardest. These are followed by technical occupations such as heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technicians. In third place in the Swiss Skills Shortage Index are fiduciary occupations, followed by IT occupations (analysts, programmers) and occupations in human medicine and pharmacy, in which the number of doctors trained cannot meet the needs of the constantly growing health system.
In the report, the data were also broken down by region. This shows that the German-speaking part of Switzerland is much more affected by the shortage of skilled workers, although the situation in French-speaking Switzerland also worsened last year. Interestingly, the same occupational fields are affected by a shortage in both regions.

The other side of the coin and possible solutions

However, the situation is not so enviable for workers in occupational sectors where there is a shortage of job vacancies. This affects mainly commercial and administrative occupations, as well as those in cleaning, hygiene and personal hygiene (e.g. hairdressers and hairdressers). However, the situation in these areas has tended to somewhat ease because there were more vacancies and less competition.
The authors of the study also point to possible solutions for the situation of a shortage of skilled workers: if possible, employees should reeducate and train themselves in skills that are in demand on the labour market. Employers can also make a contribution to improvement by promoting initial and continuing training in such skills. Business and politics should also work together to create attractive working conditions in these occupational fields, for example by enabling parents to combine family and career.

The entire report can be found here (and is available in English): https://adeccogroup.ch/de/studien/fachkraeftemangel-index-schweiz/

Author: Alex von Wyl