Berlin/Dusseldorf - The information technology and telecommunications industries have joined the ranks of those looking for qualified workers. The news comes just before the launch of the annual CeBIT computer conference which runs from March 4 to 9 in Hanover. "Currently, there are about 43,000 open positions, 18,000 in the IT industry and 25,000 in customer services," said Maurice Shahd, spokesman of the industry association BITKOM in Berlin.
"It's not just the number of 'wanted' adverts that have increased in the last two years," says Christoph Salzig, spokesman of the German Multimedia Association in Dusseldorf. "The headhunters are also pretty busy."
What the associations observe, businesses feel directly.
"Many areas of the market are empty," said Tim Ackermann, head of recruiting for Microsoft in Munich. In addition, it's getting ever harder to find specialists.
According to BITKOM, companies are first and foremost looking for degree holders. "Around 73 per cent of the companies that have openings are only looking for college graduates, usually computer scientists," said Shahd.
Experience in software development, adoption and IT consulting are very much in demand. But there is also a demand for people with backgrounds in advising, programming, database and network operations.
"We are looking for people who can bridge the gap between man and machine," says Salzig. That means computer scientists with background in other fields such as business. There's also demand for technical experts who have media and communications experience.
"Web 2.0 is the catch phrase - media and publishing are extending their activities into this field," says Salzig. Ackermann agrees that content providers are enthusiastic partners these days. "We have a new generation of users in Web 2.0," he says. That makes people skills as vital as interactivity for these new websites.
Social skills are just as important as technical skills in the industry. Language skills, experience living abroad and knowledge oft other fields can be helpful in a job search.
Flexibility is also in demand as not every job is available in every location.
"The focus is on jobs is in southern Germany and the Rhine-Main area, as well as in bigger cities like Hamburg, Berlin or Cologne," says Shahd.
But even though companies have a lot of jobs to offer, applicants should no longer expect the high salaries that were common around the turn of the century.
"Nevertheless, the trend is going toward slightly higher entry salaries than in recent years," says Shahd. But the economic situation could change quickly. "That means no college graduate should push for too much right now."
