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

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.