Shortage of engineers in Switzerland

Why do associations such as economiesuisse talk about a shortage of engineers? The demand for engineers in Switzerland has continued to rise in recent years - "in no other occupational group is the shortage of well-trained specialists greater", they say time and again. Unfortunately, according to economiesuisse, the skills of job seekers often do not match the job profiles advertised.

Policymakers, businesses and workers can all help to alleviate the problem.

Domestic young talent sought in the construction and MEM sectors

economiesuisse and Swiss Engineering STV surveyed 3300 engineers from all sectors about their professional environment, around a third of whom were also managers. The evaluation shows that almost all companies have difficulty finding suitable candidates for vacancies.

This is particularly difficult in the construction industry: 94 percent of the managers surveyed stated that it was rather or very difficult for them to fill new engineering positions. In companies in the MEM industries, the situation is not much better, at 84 percent.

The reasons for this situation are manifold and structural. The most important factor is the lack of young domestic talent. Although slightly more young people are studying engineering again in Switzerland today, this is nowhere near enough to fill the number of vacancies.

"In their decision for or against an apprenticeship, young people in Switzerland are apparently hardly guided by shortages on the labour market. Because engineers are also in high demand as managers, significantly more people would have to be trained in order to meet the demand," says the economiesuisse press release.

Qualities of candidates often do not fit the job

The executives surveyed are very satisfied overall with the quality of domestically trained engineers. Nevertheless, there are considerable differences between the required and the actual qualities of the job candidates. Very often, they lack further training, proven successes or social skills.

However, the latter in particular, together with a high willingness to perform, is regarded as the most important prerequisite for a successful career as an engineer. The survey also shows that many of the companies concerned expect job seekers to match the desired job profile very closely.

Approaches

In the view of economiesuisse and Swiss Engineering, the unsatisfactory situation can be addressed at three different levels. As far as politics is concerned, Chief Economist Rudolf Minsch and Swiss Engineering Vice President Daniel Löhr see opportunities for action above all in the area of education: "An understanding of the STEM subjects must be tackled and promoted holistically at an early stage in school. Curriculum 21 provides a good basis for this."

Employers, on the other hand, are called upon to invest in the further training of their employees, to involve older employees more and to create more flexible career opportunities. Employees, for their part, can contribute to improving the situation by constantly educating themselves, networking well in the industry and increasing their social skills.

You can find out more about the survey "Engineering shortage in Switzerland", which economiesuisse and the professional association Swiss Engineering STV recently conducted, at the following address Link