1. Home
  2. Studies
  3. Pharmaceuticals in Transition: The Need for Skilled Labour in an Era of Digital Transformation
Jasmina Kirchhoff / Lydia Malin / Simon Schumacher IW-Trends No. 2 24. June 2022 Pharmaceuticals in Transition: The Need for Skilled Labour in an Era of Digital Transformation

The shortage of skilled workers is increasingly confronting companies in Germany with major challenges. In view of the demographic and transformational tasks, there is a considerable danger that this situation will exacerbate.

Download PDF
The Need for Skilled Labour in an Era of Digital Transformation
Jasmina Kirchhoff / Lydia Malin / Simon Schumacher IW-Trends No. 2 24. June 2022

Pharmaceuticals in Transition: The Need for Skilled Labour in an Era of Digital Transformation

Download PDF Quote

Copy the information

The link was added to your clipboard!

Share this article:

or copy the following link:

The link was added to your clipboard!

German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

The shortage of skilled workers is increasingly confronting companies in Germany with major challenges. In view of the demographic and transformational tasks, there is a considerable danger that this situation will exacerbate.

Companies in the pharmaceutical industry are also among those facing difficulties in filling vacancies, a situation which could adversely affect Germany's positioning in the international competition between innovative pharmaceutical industries. On the one hand, unfilled vacancies in IT professions indispensable to the pharmaceutical sector are a nationwide problem. In particular, the widespread scarcity of IT, business information systems and software development experts, who are also increasingly in demand in other sectors, is proving particularly challenging. Germany’s pharmaceutical industry, which specialises in research as well as the development and production of highly complex medicines, can only succeed by forging ahead with the process of digitalisation, and long-term shortages in this area could well become a serious hurdle for the future development of its domestic production. On the other hand, an analysis of skilled worker bottlenecks in the biotechnology-based cluster of Upper Bavaria illustrates the impact of potential staff shortages on Germany's hopes of enhancing its position as a centre for highly innovative and biotech-based pharmaceuticals. This difficulty of filling vacancies in key professions relevant to the sector, and here especially for those with recognised apprenticeship programmes, poses particular challenges for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Content element with id 10914
Download PDF
The Need for Skilled Labour in an Era of Digital Transformation
Jasmina Kirchhoff / Lydia Malin / Simon Schumacher IW-Trends No. 2 24. June 2022

Pharmaceuticals in Transition: The Need for Skilled Labour in an Era of Digital Transformation

Download PDF Quote

Copy the information

The link was added to your clipboard!

German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

Share this article:

or copy the following link:

The link was added to your clipboard!

More on the topic

Read the article
Initial successes and further potential for securing skilled labor
Wido Geis-Thöne IW-Report No. 14 3. March 2023

Immigration from North Africa: Initial successes and further potential for securing skilled labor

With the baby boomers retiring from the labour market, Germany will be increasingly dependent on skilled workers from abroad in the coming years in order to avoid massive bottlenecks in the labour market and to secure growth and prosperity.

IW

Read the article
Wido Geis-Thöne IW-Trends 17. November 2022

Securing Skilled Labour by Attracting and Retaining International Students: The Status Quo and Suggested Approaches for Policymakers

The demographic transition is expected to leave Germany with a serious shortage of skilled workers. To alleviate this bottleneck, more young people from abroad should be trained at German universities and offered the prospect of long-term residence.

IW

More about this topic

Content element with id 8880 Content element with id 9713