In an article published on University World News at the end of March, two German industry organizations claim that German industry is facing an acute shortage of scientists and engineers. The two organizations are the Confederation of German Industry (BDI), which describes itself as "the voice of German industry" and claims to represent 100,000 businesses, and the Confederation of German Employers Associations (BDA), an umbrella organization for employer's groups.
"German industry has warned of the need to tackle a shortage of staff in mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and engineering, to stop economic momentum from stalling. Industry federations have put the swelling skills shortfall at 117,000 people in the four fields," the article reads. Where does that number come from? Oliver Koppel, a science and engineering (S&E) labor market expert at the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW), explains in an e-mail interview with Science Careers that "The figure ... represents the aggregate difference between vacancies and unemployment in S&E jobs ... as of February 2011," The original source is a report put together by the IW and the German Federal Employment Agency.
The article points to high student drop-out rates as part of the problem, citing figures from the German higher education statistics agency Hochschul Informations System GmbH, which put the drop-out to 28% in math, informatics, natural sciences, and engineering.
