2023-04-18 10:58:09
Austria will face a massive labor shortage in the coming years. The Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) and the Ministry of Labor and Economic Affairs want to take action together. In addition to the great potential in Germany – especially among older employees and women with childcare obligations – the aim is to increasingly promote the domestic labor market, especially abroad. However, specific targets were not mentioned.
“It’s regarding positioning Austria well in the world,” said Labor and Economics Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) on Tuesday at a joint press conference with WKÖ President Harald Mahrer. If Austria is to remain prosperous in the future, more workers must be attracted. In addition, it is also regarding Austria’s competitiveness. In other countries like Germany, too, a lot is currently being done to quickly recruit new workers from other countries. “The competition never sleeps,” says Mahrer.
The two institutions now want to cooperate more closely in order to advertise the Austrian labor market more intensively. Basically, it is regarding expanding the already existing activities of both institutions, according to Kocher. In addition to defining a specific distribution of tasks between the WKÖ and the ministry, the Austrian Business Agency and the AMS should also be closely involved in the efforts. Exactly how many workers are to be brought from abroad and by when was not answered. The question cannot be answered seriously at the moment, according to Mahrer.
A key lever is the red-white-red card. The reform of this had already been launched in the autumn, now it has to be “generated”, said the minister. The reform is already bearing fruit. In the first three months of 2023, for example, there was an increase of 50 percent in the red-white-red card compared to the same period in the previous year. According to Kocher, there were around 1,900 in the first three months. And there should definitely be more, according to the minister. According to Mahrer, in the medium term, the number must “go into the five-digit range” in order to achieve the target.
In any case, Austria is an attractive job market, according to Mahrer. The quality of life is high, as is purchasing power, which occupies a top position in a European comparison. “You also have to know that if you come and work here, life is good,” said the WKÖ President. In order to advertise this better abroad, the Chamber of Commerce wants to start an “awareness-raising process” together with the ministry.
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