"Made in Germany" has a legendary reputation, but it is in danger of fading. Because the technicians and inventors behind it are becoming rare.
In the country of poets and thinkers, inventors and engineers, engineers should actually be in the best position at the moment. No one is needed more than them, it is said far beyond interest groups such as the Association of German Engineers (VDI).
Because any reasonably well-informed person can recite the challenges of our time by heart: energy and mobility transition, digitization and artificial intelligence, dilapidated infrastructure, climate change. All fields in which engineers are needed - more than ever before.
"Made in Germany" used to stand for German engineering, Today, "German Engineering" is still a global seal of quality that sums up Germany's economic strength and innovative power.
However, doubts are growing: Germany has increasingly lost its technological pioneering role, has practically missed the boat on digitization and is clinging to technologies that no longer have a future, it is said.
A VDI survey found that only just over half of Germans consider their country to be more or less competitive. A clear vote of no confidence - also in German engineers. And this despite the fact that almost 98 percent of Germans still consider technical innovations to be essential for Germany's economic success. The focus is on a still impressive cohort: there were more than 100,000 degrees in engineering subjects in 2022. However, the numbers have recently stagnated, although demand for engineers is higher than ever and the decline in individual key subjects is blatant.
The best example of the decline in reputation is the automotive industry, once the unconditional pride and pioneer of the German economy. A little more than half of Germans do not believe that the best cars will still come from Germany in ten or fifteen years. This is an "alarming signal" and not just the VDI. There are others: a so-called gigafactory for battery cells is now considered a Chinese domain. What a state-supported company like CATL can set up cannot be achieved by a German company; in addition, nuclear power is being phased out and the infrastructure seems to be crumbling - so it is obvious that technical expertise is also eroding.
Especially since there seems to be little cause for hope in German schools, where the notorious weaknesses in mathematics are constantly making headlines. Most recently, it was said that almost a third of fifteen-year-olds in this country failed even simple tasks. How are they supposed to become good engineers? And this despite the fact that there are still universities in Germany that enjoy a high international reputation and the income opportunities easily compare with other industries.
Frank Ferchau, managing director and shareholder of Ferchau GmbH from Gummersbach - one of the largest German engineering service providers with around 9,000 employees - sees a cultural handicap in Germany: A major weakness in maths is not considered so bad in Germany, even sympathetic, while computer scientists and engineers in general are dismissed as being out of touch with the world. Not exactly an ideal environment for aspiring engineers. At the same time, Ferchau says: "We need more young engineers, in all areas and in all places." A look at the vacancies in this country confirms this.
But instead, the shortage has reached many universities. Although many of them experienced a temporary peak in the number of new students just over ten years ago due to the Bundeswehr reform and double years of G8 and G9 at high schools, MINT subjects - mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, technology - are now barely attracting enough people to the campus. The Technical University of Darmstadt is just one of many that has found that it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach young people. In Hesse, electrical engineering is at the bottom of the popularity scale for first-year students, while mathematics and mechanical engineering are stuck in the middle. For women in particular, there are many courses that are more appealing than those with an engineering degree. Everyone agrees that the gap in the range of courses will not become smaller unless more women are finally recruited.
The Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (VDE) has determined that in Germany, last year there were just 7,500 graduates in electrical engineering and the number is likely to continue to fall in the coming years - while in this country alone 20,000 graduates are needed to counteract the shortage of skilled workers in electrical engineering. It is little consolation that other countries are also having problems.
When German companies - often attracted by generous subsidies - set up their own production in America, they often cannot find enough qualified staff. Above all, there is a lack of engineers in traditional subjects such as mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. America is software-driven, but things are different in IT.
The shift is also becoming more and more apparent in Germany. There is a consensus that IT will continue to grow in importance, while gearbox or engine construction does not have much of a future in the shaken auto industry.
Even now, the greatest added value in machines lies in their control and not in the devices themselves - for engineers it is a departure from decades of habits.
In any case, traditional engineering activities can no longer function without interdisciplinary understanding. Frank Ferchau does not believe that Germany has become a technology-hostile country. But he says what many engineers say: Germany is unfortunately no longer special when it comes to technological expertise - and is well on its way to jeopardizing its "Made in Germany" seal of quality." [1]
1. Ist Deutschland noch das Land der Ingenieure? Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH. Jul 28, 2024.
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