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Crafts sound the alarm: lack of support endangers the future!
Crafts are demanding more support and education from the Saxon government in order to ensure a shortage of skilled workers and regional stability.
Crafts sound the alarm: lack of support endangers the future!
The Saxon trade sector sees itself in a critical situation and today drew attention to the lack of support in a fire letter to the Saxon government, in particular to Economics Minister Dirk Panter (SPD). This letter urgently calls for greater consideration to be given to the concerns of crafts and small and medium-sized businesses. The criticism is primarily directed against Saxon economic policy, which has so far focused on industrial policy approaches and thus neglected the needs of small and medium-sized companies.
The fire letter emphasizes the urgency of a change of course. The master craftsmen are calling on the government to provide clear relief for social security contributions, energy costs and bureaucratic burdens. The acute need for programs to secure skilled workers and the need for rapid investments in infrastructure and education are also highlighted. It is particularly emphasized that pragmatic support for business successions is essential to ensure the continued existence of the craft. A loss of crafts would not only endanger economic strength, but also regional stability, social balance and even democracy.
Urgent demands for vocational training
Uwe Nostitz, President of the Saxon Crafts Association, also warns about the shortage of skilled workers in Saxon crafts. Not only are there a lack of apprenticeship applicants, but also qualified employees. According to the skilled workers monitoring of the Saxon economy, almost half of all vacancies are for skilled workers and journeymen. Nostitz calls on state politicians to strengthen general school education and dual vocational training in order to counteract the shortage.
Education and qualifications are seen as the cornerstones of a prosperous society. Nostitz is concerned that stereotypes about skilled trades are discouraging young people from pursuing a career in the skilled trades. The high schools are perceived as a “remainder ramp”, from which 80% of the trainees in the skilled trades come. At the same time, many high school graduates prefer to study, although about 30% drop out.
School education and teachers
The President of the Saxon Crafts Association emphasizes that the unfilled apprenticeship positions are not only due to demographic reasons. Qualified career guidance is required at schools, as well as stricter admission criteria for degree programs. The need for action to strengthen high schools and vocational school centers seems urgent, especially in view of the fact that 1.7 million teaching hours were canceled in the last school year, which is a record. Nostitz also calls for the renovation of vocational school locations and an improvement in the image of vocational school teachers.
Looking to the future, the situation in schools is worrying because by 2030 around two thirds of teachers will be leaving due to age. It is therefore essential that funding for education also benefits local authorities. The DGB Saxony submitted an application for five days of paid training time for employees, but this was rejected by the Saxon craft sector. The chambers' current economic analysis also shows a clouded mood among companies, with 50% rating their business situation as good, 38% as satisfactory and 15% as poor, while the order backlog has fallen to just under ten weeks.
Overall, it is clear that both craft businesses and educational institutions in Saxony depend on change in order to overcome the challenges of the present and future.