Digitalization, climate and mobility transition and structural change in the mobility sector are changing and expanding business and work in car dealerships and vehicle repair shops. In view of profound changes, the IG Metall union and the Central Association of the German Motor Vehicle Trade (ZDK) agreed on a joint strategy to secure skilled workers on Friday.
The social partners assure themselves of support and demand measures from politicians. “Securing skilled workers in the automotive trade can be achieved across the board with good, collectively agreed working conditions,” says the statement. These were signed by IG Metall board member Ralf Kutzner and Arne Joswig, President of the Central Association of the German Motor Vehicle Trade, in a car dealership in Elmshorn (Schleswig-Holstein). The German motor vehicle industry currently has 37,000 companies with 435,000 employees.
Better vocational training and qualification for new tasks
“The mobility transition cannot succeed without sufficiently qualified specialists in the car dealerships,” write the social partners in view of the new tasks for the “car dealership of the future”. This will include new sales models, infrastructure for electric vehicles and new mobility services.
The union and employers want to attract, qualify and retain skilled workers. To this end, IG Metall and the German motor vehicle industry are insisting on greater recognition by politicians of vocational rather than academic education. This requires the expansion of the advancement BAföG and state support for master craftsman training. The vocational training schools were working to their limits in terms of personnel and technology. Funding for renovation and modernization is necessary here.
Trainees, like students, need sufficient accommodation in the city and better local transport in the countryside. “We demand that these mobility gaps be closed as quickly as possible,” the statement said. Tailored qualification, support or reintegration offers should ensure more permeability and opportunities in the industry.
Ralf Kutzner, managing board member of IG Metall, said: “Employees in the automotive trade are key drivers of the mobility transition. You and the industry need good qualifications and working conditions with more collective agreements.”
Arne Joswig, President of the Central Association of the German Motor Vehicle Industry, said: “The functionality of motor vehicle companies is a prerequisite for the transformation in connection with the climate goals in the transport sector. That’s why the skills gap must be closed.”