Germany’s Skilled Labor Shortage: What the GDR Experience Teaches

Every year 50,000 young people leave school without a qualification. It is involved shortage of teachersmissing lessons is terrible. The lack of skilled and well-trained workers is causing increasing problems for the economy. Germany’s competitiveness is at stake.

The Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Saxony and Thuringia addressed their concerns to the public ahead of the state elections on September 1. They complain about a lack of preparation for training, a weak focus on dual-career training, and they want measures to combat the shortage of teachers and guidance towards MINT subjects (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, technology ).

In the DDR Education was one of the main activities of society as a whole. The country received a lot of international praise for it. As a result of the current decline in education, former economic leaders are turning to the politicians in charge today.

Your open letter is addressed to Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Federal Minister of Education and Research, Robert HabeckFederal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, and Katharina Günther-WünschSenator for Education in Berlin.

An open letter

Dear Ms. Stark-Watzinger, Ms. Günther-Wünsch, Dear Mr. Habeck,

We are a group of veterans who held key business positions in the GDR, managed large corporations and worked in the market economy as board members and consultants at home and abroad.

We are contacting you with great concern about the condition of the education system. We fear that the impact of this sick system will not be seen both on the education of every citizen and on ensuring the high performance of the German economy in the future. What is shocking to us is that 50,000 young people in the wealthy Federal Republic do not finish school every year and are therefore not available for further vocational training despite the lack of skilled workers.

Education is the most valuable raw material

There is a shortage of teachers, which leads to a high rate of lost hours, poorly paid mid-level academic staff at universities and technical colleges, general equipment of schools and universities, and a lack of affordable dormitories for apprentices and students. more examples that show the misery.

The only important “raw material” in Germany is the high level of education of the population. In the successful development so far, scientists, engineers, skilled workers and other experts have produced high quality products with a high level of education and affordable prices for imported raw materials that are are sold all over the world and have made Germany the export champion in the world.

We see with great concern that this previously successful development is in danger of going in the other direction. The level of education among school leavers is falling, raw materials are becoming more and more expensive, China’s competition is increasingly dominant in scientific and technical progress, meaning that Germany has long ago began to slide back from the ceiling to the realm of the midget.

We believe that it is time to remember special experiences of the GDR education system. Every day in the combination we run, we were happy to see that the young people who had gone through the GDR education system had received very good prerequisites for the further vocational training in our combs .

More than indoctrination: educational plans!

Many of us have worked our way up from the bottom up to operations and mix director positions. Any employee who wanted to further their education could do so for free and with the support of the companies through time off and, for example, reserve money.

The GDR education system offered much more than the indoctrination, civics and military training that the mainstream advocated. We claim that no one knows the possibilities and problems of the GDR economy and the education system better than us, who play a key role in shaping these processes. We had educational plans that ensured that the economic need for skilled workers could be met. Today’s economy is one with a shortage of skilled workers. That is why we refer to experiences from the GDR.

Compared to the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany was the wealthiest country, measured in terms of economic substance. Nevertheless, in the GDR, education in the broadest sense of the word was a concern of society as a whole with the highest priority. Despite the many economic problems, the GDR’s education system had the privilege of almost completely securing its personnel, material and financial requirements.

The entire educational process was well organized, centrally managed and based on the latest scientific and educational results. Curricula, tests and qualifications were the same in all regions. Qualifications, including high school diplomas, were completely comparable from Rostock in the north to Suhl in the south. The current division of responsibility for the equitable educational process at the level of the federal states also hinders and prevents education from receiving the highest priority it deserves on.

The shortage of teachers was unbearable

In the GDR, a situation where a large number of teachers were missing was unthinkable. A regional or regional school board would not be able to fulfill its role if even a small number of teachers were missing. Today we are surprised to see that those who are responsible for this announce the negative news as if no one is responsible for it. In the GDR, the number of teachers needed was planned in advance and the training positions were secured in terms of manpower, capacity and finances.

In today’s forms of schooling, such as vocational training with a high school diploma, well-educated people were brought in who had ideal conditions for further development at colleges and universities and took responsibility in the economy. then.

Great attention was paid to ensuring that every school leaver received vocational training appropriate to his abilities. Almost all companies were training their own young skilled workers at a high level or in collaboration with partners.

We point out that pre-school education is just as important for the successful completion of school as it is for later professional development. In the GDR there was a kindergarten place for every child of the appropriate age, whether it was in an urban center or in the countryside. This contributed greatly to the fact that more than 90 percent of women were able to work. It is completely incomprehensible to us that this factor of growth and education is neglected especially today.

We believe that further successful economic development in the Federal Republic of Germany is largely dependent on the level of education at all levels. Last, but not least, Pisa and other studies show that fundamental reforms are inevitable in this country. There are currently no prerequisites for this – which is largely the result of bad political decisions made by those in power in recent years.

A strategy to return to the top of the world

The School Senate, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Economic Affairs have a special responsibility. From our point of view, it is urgent to develop a detailed strategy that aims to return to world levels in education in a historically short period of time. All areas that affect education must be included in the development of this strategy. Levels for the achievement of objectives, provision of resources and strict responsibility for the implementation of the individual measures had to be decided.

It’s time to change course. Experiences from the GDR can certainly be helpful.

Christa Bertag, former general director of VEB Cosmetics Combine Berlin

Eckhard Netzmannwho was general director of heavy engineering VEB together Ernst-Thälmann Magdeburg

Detlef Jank, who was the general director of VEB TAKRAF

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