"On-the-job training is the most important pillar of recruiting the next generation of workers. Companies and vocational schools must remain easily accessible in the future as well!

Ensuring the Dual Vocational Training System Remains a Model for Success

For industry, dual vocational training is the most important pillar for securing the next generation of workers. Despite a wide range of apprenticeship opportunities, the number of applicants is declining, making it more difficult to find suitable candidates. 

The dual system combines practical on-the-job experience with theoretical vocational school education. Short commutes are crucial for young people, as many rely on public transportation. However, Hesse’s plan to centralize specialized classes with few students could lead to long commutes and further reduce the appeal of certain professions (e.g., chemical laboratory technician, mechatronics technician, construction mechanic).

Demands of the Industry Advisory Board to the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs:

• In border regions such as Wiesbaden/Mainz, regulations should be adapted and applied on a supraregional basis to improve access to vocational schools.
• Modern equipment and virtual learning content could shorten in-person class time and increase the appeal of these programs.
• An expansion and improvement of public transportation from Wiesbaden to the surrounding areas of Hesse is urgently needed.
• For state-level classes in rural areas, affordable lodging and childcare options must be created.

The companies represented on the Wiesbaden Industry Advisory Board are ready to do their part. Policymakers must create pragmatic framework conditions to combat the shortage of skilled workers.

The full position paper is available for download as a PDF under “Documents.” 

Wiesbaden’s industrial sector needs skilled workers to secure its future!
Affordable housing, childcare and educational opportunities, as well as smart recruitment strategies, are key factors in sustainably meeting the demand for skilled workers.

Industry in Wiesbaden is a key economic driver: it ensures prosperity, jobs, and tax revenue that fund infrastructure, education, and social services. However, a shortage of skilled workers—exacerbated by demographic trends, social change, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic—threatens this role. All skill levels are affected, particularly technical and skilled trades as well as logistics. The consequences of the skilled labor shortage include longer unfilled vacancies, higher recruiting costs, workforce overload, production losses, and lost growth.

Companies are already responding with more attractive working conditions, more flexible target groups, retraining and continuing education, as well as collaborations with associations and local governments. However, these measures are not sufficient. Policymakers must improve the business environment to combat the skilled labor shortage in a sustainable manner.

 
Recommendations for action from the Industry Advisory Board to Wiesbaden’s city policymakers on the following topics:

• Housing for All Income Levels

The housing shortage in Wiesbaden hinders the filling of job openings, particularly for low- and middle-income earners, on whom the industry relies. The Industry Advisory Board calls for a sustainable municipal housing policy to create affordable housing—including for apprentices in technical trades.

• Mobility: Strengthening Public Transportation and Private Transportation

Commuters from the surrounding area who work at Wiesbaden’s industrial companies rely on cars. The Industrial Advisory Board calls for greater acceptance of private transportation. Public transit must provide better connections to industrial sites in terms of routes and frequency.

• Demand-Based Childcare Services

Childcare is a crucial location factor in enabling employees to balance work and family life. The Industrial Advisory Board calls for sufficient, easily accessible childcare spots close to home to enable full-time work. Reliable care support is an important economic factor for both employees and employers.

• Educational Excellence for Tomorrow’s Skilled Workers

Vocational schools must be digitally equipped and attractive to prevent students from leaving for Frankfurt or Mainz. The Industry Advisory Board therefore calls for faster digitization and better equipment in schools. In addition, apprentice dormitories should be available for all apprenticeship programs.

• Smart matching platforms

Collaborations with the city (e.g., apprenticeship fairs, speed-dating events) are successful and must be expanded. The Industry Advisory Board calls for the targeted placement of refugees and people with a migrant background through platforms, events, and municipal integration programs.

• City Marketing: Positioning Industry as a Strength

Wiesbaden combines historic industrial culture, the charm of a spa and cultural city, and modern industry—a unique selling point. The Industry Advisory Board calls for the active integration of industry into city marketing to gain an edge in the competition for skilled workers in the Rhine-Main region.

• Intermunicipal Cooperation

Cooperation with Mainz and Rhine-Main institutions (e.g., in vocational training) should be strengthened to leverage synergies and enhance Wiesbaden’s appeal as a place to work, live, and thrive.
 
 The full-length position paper is available for download as a PDF under “Documents.” 

Affordable Housing—Preserving Wiesbaden’s Urban Integrity and Attractiveness in the Competition for Skilled Workers!
Develop land, promote housing models for young people, sustainably alleviate Wiesbaden’s traffic situation, and restore the city’s small- and medium-sized industrial culture.

The supply of housing, particularly options for people with low and moderate incomes, plays a multifaceted role in Wiesbaden that is crucial to the sustainable development of the city and its economy. For the Wiesbaden Industrial Advisory Board, which represents local industrial companies, three aspects are paramount:

• The local housing situation as a key factor in recruiting skilled workers

In the already fierce competition for skilled workers and labor, the severely strained situation on Wiesbaden’s housing market represents a strategic disadvantage compared to other locations.

• The impact of housing supply on mobility and the traffic situation

Given increasing mobility bottlenecks, commuting to work is not a viable long-term option. It is essential to systematically address the issues of skilled labor shortages, housing supply, and mobility in this context.

• Strategic Development of Land for Residential and Commercial Use

Recommendations from the Industry Advisory Board to the City:

1. Strengthening the strategic perspective on land development
2. Consistent continuation of long-term integrated planning for both residential and commercial areas
3. Continuation of land monitoring that provides an overview of construction activities and potential sites and serves as a basis for information regarding future land requirements.
4. Identification and removal of barriers to development.
5. Ensuring a balance in the new land-use plan that takes economic, social, and environmental requirements into account. In this context, the creation of housing is one of the most important social aspects. At the same time, affordable housing is a key factor in improving the traffic situation in and around Wiesbaden by reducing commuter traffic.

The full-length position paper is available for download as a PDF under “Documents.”

Reducing bureaucracy supports business success!
Government processes as a competitive factor. Efficiency and autonomy through digitalization.

Bureaucracy, as an orderly system of rules, is an essential characteristic and a prerequisite for the functioning of complex, highly specialized, and differentiated societies. It guarantees numerous advantages for individuals and organizations. These include, above all, objectivity independent of individuals, equal treatment, predictability and plannability, as well as reliability. As the representative body of major industrial enterprises, the Industry Advisory Council expressly recognizes the role of bureaucracy in promoting economic and social progress.

Bureaucracy imposes costs on businesses:

1. Primarily through the allocation of human resources to meet regulatory requirements at the EU, federal, state, and local levels
2. through potential delays in operational processes
3. through direct costs in the form of fees.

Demands of the Industry Advisory Board to the City:

The Industry Advisory Board calls on the Wiesbaden administration to provide businesses with the best possible support in meeting all regulatory requirements. This can be achieved in various ways and at various levels:

• Through the city administration’s advocacy efforts with state and federal authorities, with the goal of reducing regulatory burdens and simplifying processes and documentation requirements
• By fostering, in a spirit of partnership, a culture of understanding and appreciation for entrepreneurial activity within the offices and agencies of the state capital.
• Through the continuous optimization of administrative processes and procedures, particularly through further digitization.

The full-length position paper is available for download.