First event to secure skilled workers: A new path for companies!

First event to secure skilled workers: A new path for companies!

At a time when the labor market is facing challenges such as demographic change and digitalization, a new event to secure skilled workers took place in northern Germany. The Vechta Employment Agency, together with the Cloppenburg and Vechta districts and the Oldenburger Münsterland association, organized an event on October 6, 2025 that was intended to promote exchange and idea generation for attracting and retaining skilled workers. This initiative was part of an accompanying job fair that offered HR managers from small and medium-sized companies the opportunity to receive valuable information and suggestions to combat the current skills shortage. As OM-Online reports, District Administrator Tobias Gerdesmeyer opened the event together with Tina Heliosch from the employment agency and Anne Tapken, district councilor for the Cloppenburg district.

The organizers entrusted the moderation of the event to the managing director of the Oldenburger Münsterland Association, Jan Kreienborg. In an insightful first talk, Tina Heliosch emphasized the urgency of maintaining training performance, expanding further training opportunities for employees and creating opportunities for employees without full qualifications.

 Securing skilled workers through family-friendly personnel policies

A central aspect of the event was the presentation of family-friendly personnel policies, which are becoming increasingly important in the competition for qualified employees. Renate Hitz, who speaks for the association of family-friendly companies, and Nadine Klügel from Freese and Feldhaus, showed how flexible working time models, child care and home office not only benefit employees, but also increase the satisfaction and motivation of the workforce. This enables a better balance between family and work, which is crucial for many employees today when choosing an employer. According to the Employment Agency, a family-oriented personnel policy can reduce fluctuation and reduce sickness rates. In addition, labor productivity and the company's attractiveness on the labor market increase.

Johanna Hollah from the Vechta district economic development department presented the “Internship Week” placement platform, an innovative project that connects internships with potential new employees. In this context, funding opportunities from the employment agency, such as retraining, were also presented by Iris Wollenberg and Nadine Stauber.

 Strategies against the shortage of skilled workers

The problems that prevail on the German labor market are not new. Germany needs qualified specialists to be able to overcome future challenges such as climate protection and digitalization. The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has therefore developed a comprehensive skilled workers strategy (https://www.bmas.de/DE/Arbeit/Fachkraeftesicherung/Fachkraeftestrategie/fachkraeftestrategie.html) that focuses on five areas of action: contemporary training, targeted further training, increasing the workforce potential, improving the quality of work and a modern immigration policy.

With this new strategy, which was decided by the federal government on October 12, 2022, those responsible are responding to the “skilled workers paradox” – the imbalance between the demand and supply of qualified workers in various industries. The challenges are clear: more and more workers are leaving the market and international competition for well-qualified specialists is increasing. Initiatives such as the event now being held to secure skilled workers, which promotes exchange and networking in the region, are all the more needed.

The first steps have now been taken, and the goal is clear: the shortage of skilled workers in northern Germany should be actively combated with good instinct and committed cooperation.