As interest in Stem careers fade, Germany turns to foreign workers to fill the technical talent gap
Once considered the workshop of the world, Germany is struggling to maintain its position as a global technological powerhouse. Why are Europe’s younger generations turning away from strenuous subjects?
German-speaking countries were once considered a stronghold of tinkerers and inventors. But today young people are avoiding technical degree programmes with serious consequences. If a company can’t find young engineers or IT specialists, workers from India are often the last hope. Immigrants can compensate for the lack of motivation among domestic employees to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the so-called Stem subjects). Germany now has 33,000 Indian nationals in Stem professions. In 2012 there were 4,000.
That shortage of homegrown workers will worsen. An estimated 200,000 German engineers will retire in the next 10 years. At the same time, fewer young people are choosing to study the subjects necessary to replace them. Only 80,000 students are enrolled in mechanical engineering. A decade ago that number was 120,000. The situation is particularly precarious in fields such as electrical and civil engineering, and especially bridge construction. Once, this nation produced ground-breaking inventions, thanks to pioneers such as Carl Benz and Werner von Siemens. Now, that engineering prowess is disappearing.
The same trend can also be observed in Switzerland and Austria. The University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria has investigated the career interests of different age groups. The results show that the younger the age group, the less popular Stem subjects seem to be. For Generation Z, which comprises those born between 1997 and 2010, a technical or scientific degree is the least appealing. Among young men, physics and chemistry are considered particularly unattractive. Mechanics and mechatronics degrees receive the least interest from women. The latter combines the former with electronics and computer science – a specialism required in robotics and medical technology.
Statistics professor Harald Kindermann, who led the study, describes the findings as “alarming”. “The low interest of the younger generation in technical professions jeopardises the future competitiveness of our economy,” he says. Kindermann notes that competition, particularly from China, has significantly increased too.
Without enough young, talented people entering the workforce, European industry risks losing its pre-eminent position. Kindermann is concerned that the attractiveness of technical fields has declined further since the most recent survey three years ago. “This affects both genders,” he says. “Among men, interest has decreased even more sharply.” Nevertheless, the traditional gender disparity persists, in which women are far more likely to avoid technical fields.
What’s the explanation for the growing disinterest? Kindermann cites a number of factors, which he bases on his study as well as his practical experience as a lecturer. A Stem degree is perceived as more demanding and strenuous, which deters many people despite the good career prospects it offers. “The younger generation tends to be less resilient,” he says. “Furthermore, they increasingly struggle to understand more complex content that requires logical thinking.”
Shifting incentives
This is partly due to the school system, which doesn’t adequately train people in these skills. Societal trends exacerbate the problem. “Social networks shape a model in which young people focus on well-being rather than achievements,” says Kindermann. The goal of contributing to society also seems to have lost some of its sheen. The professor believes that young people should be challenged more. Likewise, skilled trades and apprenticeships need to regain some prestige. “Because the academic path is considered more attractive, there’s a lack of talented young people at technical universities,” he says.
Stem departments face a dilemma. The public funding that they receive is tied to student numbers. These are also expensive courses that require modern laboratories and equipment. When fewer people enrol on a subject, the revenue disappears.
Matters of scale
According to Kindermann, this increases incentives to make exams easier and lower performance standards to avoid losing even more students. Smaller universities, in particular, are at risk of falling below thresholds at which they would have to discontinue certain subjects.
This divergence can also be observed in Switzerland. Leading university ETH Zürich continues to attract a large number of students, with more and more coming from abroad. Nearly half of the master’s students there now hold a foreign passport. By contrast, universities of applied sciences are experiencing a decline in enrolment in Stem subjects among domestic young people; since 2017, the number of new students has fallen by 7 per cent. While there has been a slight increase in computer science, the drop in the wider technical fields is in double digits. Non-Stem subjects, on the other hand, continue to attract more applicants.
High price of cost-cutting
The Haute École Arc in western Switzerland has first-hand knowledge of the threat that this decline in interest poses for engineering faculties. It operates in three cantons: Neuchâtel, Jura and Berne. In engineering, the number of bachelor’s students plummeted by 28 per cent in just eight years. The fall was even more dramatic for new enrolments, which fell by 38 per cent from 160 to a record low of 100.
According to Tristan Maillard, the Haute École Arc’s director general, the school management has had to implement painful cost-cutting measures. “We were forced to part ways with several lecturers,” he says. “Nevertheless, we made every effort to retain the best professors.”
In response to this tug-of-war with industry, the Haute École Arc reformed its Stem education last year with great success. New enrolments quickly rose again to 130 and the university expects a further increase in the coming semester.
Without the co-operation of the cantons, the cuts would have been even more drastic. Maillard says that the already significant shortage of young professionals has exacerbated the decline in student numbers. “Companies are fighting to retain their apprentices,” he says. “They pay them good wages to keep them in their jobs instead of attending university.”
Flex appeal
“We thoroughly analysed the students’ needs and found that they wanted greater flexibility,” says Maillard. In response, the school now offers part-time study at the bachelor’s level, three days a week, allowing students to remain at their companies for the other two days. This change makes it far easier for companies to retain sought-after young talent.
To accommodate such alterations, the programme has been extended from three to four years. Full-time study, meanwhile, will continue to be offered, albeit with a reduction from five to four days a week. From next year, the number of weekly hours will be cut from 36 to 32 too. “We are confident that we can maintain the quality of the training here despite this streamlining,” says Maillard.
Despite such efforts to make Stem studies more attractive, little progress has been made in addressing the low proportion of women. Eight years ago, 12 per cent of engineering students at Swiss universities were female; the current figure is barely higher at 15 per cent. According to the Swiss Academies of Sciences, Stem education in the country has hit a “glass ceiling”.
The gender-equality paradox
Research suggests that this situation won’t be changing any time soon. The data shows that the proportion of women in technical professions is generally lower the wealthier and more egalitarian that a country is. This trend is known as the “gender-equality paradox”. The most common explanation for it is that increasing wealth and the pursuit of individual self-realisation often have the effect of reinforcing gender-specific career aspirations.
The proportion of women in Stem degree programmes is at about 40 per cent in countries such as India or Algeria; it is particularly low in Scandinavia. The same phenomenon can be observed at German universities. According to the country’s Centre for Higher Education, only a ninth of domestic first-year engineering students are female. Among international students, however, women make up a quarter.
Kindermann too says that the low interest in Stem subjects is a consequence of greater material prosperity. This makes it all the more important to raise young people’s awareness of the economic implications. “Quality of life in Europe depends on our ability to maintain our leading position in technological expertise.”
The country’s technical-expertise shortage is already resulting in a €13bn loss of added value, according to the Association of German Engineers. The wave of retirements among skilled workers means that even more skills will need to be replaced in the future.
About the writer: Albert Steck is a journalist at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and NZZ am Sonntag. This article first appeared in the NZZ in June and has been translated by Monocle.
