Shortage of skilled workers threatens upswing: Germany's construction industry in danger!

Shortage of skilled workers threatens upswing: Germany's construction industry in danger!

The shortage of skilled workers in Germany remains a serious problem that continues to weigh on the economy despite a slight improvement in the number of job vacancies. In March 2025, 387,000 positions were still unfilled, which represents a decrease of 17.5 percent compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, it is clear that the gaps, particularly in certain craft areas, remain serious. This particularly affects plumbing, heating and air conditioning technology, where over 12,000 positions could not be filled. There is also a lack of more than 3,000 qualified specialists in the roofing industry, which makes it difficult to carry out important projects. The German economy is faced with the challenge of addressing these deficits, especially in view of the announced financial packages for infrastructure and defense, which are intended to provide economic stimulus but are at risk due to the shortage of skilled workers.

The situation is similarly tense in civil engineering. There are bottlenecks across all qualification levels: around 2,000 skilled workers, more than 1,200 specialists and over 1,100 experts are missing. Central civil engineering projects, such as the construction of modern supply systems or tunnels, are at risk because the necessary workers are not available. The shortage of skilled workers is defined as the number of open positions for which there are no suitably qualified unemployed people. This significantly limits the possibilities of the economy and endangers the implementation of climate-friendly projects, such as converting heating systems or expanding photovoltaic systems sueddeutsche.de reported.

Growing challenges in craftsmanship

The shortage of skilled workers is particularly pronounced in the skilled trades. In 2022 alone, the number of vacancies in skilled trades reached a record high of around 236,818. These bottlenecks result not only from the good economic situation in the construction trade, but also from political targets in climate protection and housing construction, as well as demographic change in the healthcare trade. The biggest bottlenecks can be found in construction electrical engineering, where there is a shortage of almost 18,000 skilled workers, as well as in plumbing, heating and air conditioning technology, with almost 14,000 vacancies. In these areas, around eight out of ten vacancies could not be filled, which illustrates the urgency of the problem.

Dual training plays a central role in securing skilled workers in the skilled trades. A downward trend in newly concluded training contracts must urgently be stopped in order to meet the increased demand. In order to address the shortage of skilled workers, more training positions are being offered in the construction trades where there are shortages. This is reflected in a significant increase in the number of young people who have been recruited for trade training, particularly in the areas of building electrical engineering, plumbing, heating and air conditioning technology, and roofing. However, the number of training positions on offer is increasing faster than the number of applicants, which leads to unfilled training positions kofa.de determines.