The issues of education and staff shortages have arrived in companies. The companies expect active support from the federal government.
Vienna (OTS) – June 29, 2022 – 27 percent of Austrian companies plan to increase their workforce by the end of the year. However, many of them find it difficult to fill the vacancies with the right people. In order to counteract the current shortage of workers, companies expect a rapid and practical modernization of the domestic school and education system and the implementation of a consistent training offensive by the federal government. Qualities that are currently particularly important in recruiting are reliability and a sense of responsibility, professional qualifications and “social skills”. These are the results of the Austrian Business Check of KSV1870, in which around 1,300 companies took part.
One in four domestic companies (27%) would like to increase their workforce this year or has already done so. This is particularly the case in Vorarlberg (41%), Vienna (33%) and Carinthia (30%) – as well as in the hospitality industry (43%) and electronic data processing (40%). Rather less frequently in Burgenland (14%) and Styria (19%). In addition, two thirds of the companies (67%) plan to fill vacancies. “The fear that jobs could be lost as a result of increasing digitization has not come true so far. On the contrary:
Many companies are desperately looking for well-trained specialists, which they are finding difficult at the moment,” explains Mag. Ricardo-José Vybiral, MBA, CEO of KSV1870 Holding AG. It is also evident that young companies in particular (max. 4 years) are considering increasing their workforce: While this is the case for 39 percent of young companies, it is almost 25 percent for established companies.
To-do’s for the government: education system and company training offensive
Austria’s economy also expects support from the federal government in order to get the labor shortage under control – and that’s better today than tomorrow. The focus is clearly on education. The central demands are the practical modernization of the school and education system and the implementation of a large-scale training offensive directly in the companies – more training places on site, financial support for training companies and the destigmatization of the apprenticeship profession are central expectations. “There is a content-related turnaround on the part of companies when it comes to making their own operations fit for the future. Tax breaks and reducing bureaucracy are no longer the top priority, but people and their education,” explains Vybiral.
“Time of demands” over – companies have to approach employees
While lateral entrants were also welcome in the past, the current factors are reliability/a sense of responsibility (77%), the appropriate professional qualifications (59%) and pronounced social skills in connection with the factor “must fit into the team” ( 41% each) who are on the lookout for more. At the same time, flexibility, a willingness to learn and loyalty to the company are among the most important requirements. In addition, companies are aware that the “time of demanding without giving something in return” is over and that the labor market has developed into an employee market. When asked what companies have to offer job seekers these days, the top answers were a pleasant working atmosphere (63%), a good work-life balance (49%) and a performance-related salary (43%) – followed by working from home or working from home. flexible working opportunities and a “secure job”. It is striking: “Regardless of whether it is a young or established company, whether in eastern or western Austria – the local companies assume that a good working atmosphere and a good work-life balance will be more popular on the labor market than with the salary factor”, so Vybiral.
About the survey: As part of the Austrian Business Check, KSV1870 surveys Austrian companies twice a year about their economic situation. More than 1,300 domestic companies took part in the current survey in March 2022, which was carried out together with the market and opinion research institute Marketagent.
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