There is a shortage of educators, social workers, nursing staff and salespeople throughout Germany – and skilled workers in other professions are also becoming increasingly scarce. According to a study by the German Economic Institute (IW), this shortage of skilled workers will increase significantly in the coming years. In 2028, an estimated 768,000 jobs will not be able to be filled with sufficiently qualified skilled workers. Last year, the figure was around 487,000.

The most important factor is demographic change, i.e. the ageing of German society. This is because many people will be retiring in the coming years. The study examined the labour market situation in 1,300 occupations by evaluating data from 2023 and trends from previous years. The greatest shortages are expected among sales assistants. Here, the current gap could grow from more than 12,900 to 40,470, as too few young people are training in this field.

Second place goes to childcare workers with around 30,800 jobs, followed by social work and social pedagogy with more than 21,150 and health and nursing care with a good 21,350.

The experts also examined which occupations are likely to see the sharpest rises and falls in employment. The largest growth will be in childcare. By 2028, it is expected that almost 143,400 new positions will need to be filled with suitable personnel. However, according to the authors, this will not be enough to meet demand. There will also be a significant increase of 26 percent in IT professions. The reason for this is digitalisation.

The IW expects the largest decline in metalworking professions. There, the number of trained skilled workers could fall by almost 161,200 by 2028. Many are retiring, and too few young people are coming in to replace them. This opens up attractive opportunities for foreign applicants in many areas!