Fight against the shortage of skilled workers: is Austria well prepared?

Fight against the shortage of skilled workers: is Austria well prepared?

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - On December 5, 2024, the 177th Annual General Meeting of the Federal Chamber of Labor took place in Villach, which dealt with urgent topics in the world of work. Renate Anderl, President of the Federal Chamber of Labor, emphasized that the interests of the 4 million members of the AK should be the focus. Despite the challenges such as the upcoming recession and the great budget deficit, she called for more impulses and investments to boost the economy. Anderl emphasized: "If we want to seriously fight the climate crisis, then green investments are urgently needed", such as "https://www.ots.at/presseausendung/ots_20241205/AK-PRAESITIN-ADERL-GEITUNGEN-MUESSE- EAFT-AR-AK-HOEN"> apa.at reported.

The demographic change was a central topic. Anderl warned of an increasing number of retirement -supplying specialists in systematic appointments. "However, the solution cannot be that retirement age increases to 67," she clarified. Julia Bock-Schappelwein from WiFo added that it was crucial to create suitable working conditions for older employees and to upgrade professions. "We are faced with decisive challenges in the world of work - the population of working age will shrink significantly," she said, and called on strategic measures to counteract this development.

digitization as a driving force

Michael Soder from AK addressed the massive transformation through digitization and ecologization. He described the current structural change as comparable to the industrial revolution and called for a human -centered view of these changes. "A wide range of measures is necessary to cope with this change," said Soder. However, he warned that an industrial and transformation strategy in Austria is missing, which strengthens uncertainties. His message was clear: "Economic policy has the instruments and means to create perspectives and uncertainty." These findings are also supported by a study by the WIFO, which illuminates the cheaper adjustments and the benefit perception of entrepreneurial platforms, as ssrn.com