Munich (dpa) – German industry is in the throes of digital transformation. Siemens is reacting to the changing needs of its employees with a new digitization academy, the group announced on Friday. In the “SiTecSkills Academy”, 19 regional training centers throughout Germany have to hone skills for the “digital change in the workplace”. In this way, Siemens wants to ensure the “employability” of its employees, i.e. ensure that they can continue to do what the company needs in the future.
“By targeted upgrading and retraining, we can ensure that the skills of our employees are always up to date,” says Judith Wiese, responsible for human resources and sustainability issues on the Siemens board of management. This also ensures the long-term competitiveness of the company.
“Investing in tailor-made training and further education is not only cheaper, it also makes more sense from a company point of view, as we can build on the existing know-how of our employees,” says Wiese. “In this way we offer added value for everyone: the people, the company and our society.”
A question of costs
The economic calculation behind this is clear: In the case of intensive further training and retraining measures, Siemens calculates on the basis of experience with an average size of around 8,000 euros per year for training one employee (upskilling) or 30,000 euros per year for training an employee for another field of activity to be retrained (retraining). It’s not cheap, but hiring someone new costs around 40,000 to 50,000 euros, including costs for consultations, training time and the like.
And scaling is usually even more expensive. Siemens does not name any numbers here. From sector circles, on the other hand, dimensions of an average of 100,000 euros per employee are heard. So if you retrain an employee with qualifications that are no longer needed instead of firing him and hiring a new employee with the qualifications he is looking for, you save a lot of money.
At IG Metall, the approach is positive: They welcome “practically any measure that serves to qualify people,” says Hagen Reimer, responsible for Siemens at the union. With its flexible focus on technical content, the academy is a good approach. “All employees must have the opportunity to adapt their qualification profile to the requirements on an ongoing basis and with foresight,” he says.
“We have transformational times and needs are changing,” explains expert Enzo Weber from the Institute for the Labor Market and Professional Research, IAB. The issue of continuous training has gained importance, especially in companies that invest in digital technologies.
Weber points out that the further training benefits society as a whole. “The risk of unemployment is decreasing, value creation and tax revenues are increasing. This is one of the reasons why the state is promoting further training measures.”
Shortage of skilled workers in focus
And of course the shortage of skilled workers also plays a role. “The shortage on the labor market is currently greater than it was since the economic miracle, and this despite the energy crisis,” says Weber. Fewer people were made redundant during the Corona crisis than before the crisis. “Companies see that if they fire someone, they might not fill the position.”
This also makes retraining more sensible than filling a new position. But there are also obstacles and limitations: “Not everyone can meet every need and not everyone wants to work in every area just because there’s a need,” says Weber. “It often makes sense to look for jobs with related skills.”
But there are also exceptions, as an example from Siemens shows: In Regensburg, where there was already a forerunner of the current initiative, a former canteen worker completed her redevelopment this summer. You are now a mechatronic engineer in the construction of special machines.
