The much-discussed shortage of skilled workers—especially among IT specialists—is a reality, according to a new Bitkom study. One in two startups has already been unable to fill positions because they couldn't find suitable candidates.
The ICT industry association surveyed more than 250 startup founders, and 53 percent said they had already failed to fill a position at least once because no qualified applicant was found. Around two-thirds of respondents are having particular difficulty finding IT experts. 17 percent have trouble finding sales staff, and 10 percent struggle to find marketing and communications experts. Bitkom President Achim Berg says:
"We've been seeing a serious shortage of skilled workers in the German economy for years, especially with regard to IT experts. Startups are now competing not only with large IT corporations, but also with established companies from almost every other industry, which can often offer more than a newly founded startup, especially in terms of fixed salary."
It is therefore all the more important for founders to “put together an attractive package for applicants and also to look for candidates internationally.”
Welcoming culture for foreign skilled workers
As well as Studies from other industries show, the demand for developers is particularly high. 17 percent of founders state that backend developers are particularly difficult to find, while 13 percent complain about a general lack of developers and programmers. 8 percent cannot find JavaScript developers, 7 percent cannot find front-end developers, and the same number cannot find mobile developers. At least 6 percent of respondents say it is particularly difficult to hire big data and data science experts. Bitkom President Berg warns:
"Especially for startups, which can still relatively easily choose to locate abroad, the shortage of skilled workers can become a serious disadvantage for Germany as a business location. The goal of attracting more young people to computer science, for example by introducing computer science as a school subject across the country, is not only important for educational policy, but also provides concrete support for startups."
According to Berg, a welcoming culture must be developed for skilled workers from abroad in order to attract more of them to Germany.
