It's the business community that keeps rural structures running. (Photo: © tiggra/123RF.com)
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Crafts in rural areas - themed specials
January 2019
Almost half of all craft businesses are located in rural areas. The problems are similar, as is the belief that nowhere could be more beautiful.
What would villages be without their hairdresser, baker, carpenter, painter, metalworker, undertaker, or electrician? Often these are family businesses that have been established here for generations. The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts estimates that roughly half of all skilled trades businesses and employees are located in rural areas. That's hundreds of thousands of people.
Moving away? Relocating to the nearest big city? That's out of the question. The businesses are rooted here and want to stay. This persistence in the local area is good for the villages and small towns, because it's precisely the business owners who keep the social structures here running. They are important employers and trainers, and they volunteer their time. For the company owners, however, surviving in the countryside beyond the big cities and suburbs is sometimes a real challenge.
Entrepreneurs face similar challenges: a shortage of skilled workers and young talent, the migration or aging of customers, and an educational infrastructure that, unlike in metropolitan areas, is becoming increasingly sparse.
"Broadband and mobile network access in rural areas in Germany is still significantly worse than in urban areas. This is a huge disadvantage for the skilled trades, where digitalization is progressing rapidly," emphasizes Dr. Carsten Benke, head of department at the Central Association of German Skilled Crafts in Berlin (ZDH), in an interview with the Handwerksblatt.
The Chambers of Skilled Crafts in Germany - HWK of Saarland
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The Chambers of Skilled Crafts in Germany - HWK Koblenz
This isn't just about normal communication like the internet or phone calls, but about complex processes in manufacturing, "smart homes," and construction projects that businesses need to integrate into. And it's hard to believe, but even in villages and small towns, commercial space is becoming scarce . "Businesses are increasingly being pushed out of the town center. Where there used to be mixed-use village areas with farmers, bakeries, or workshops, there's now almost exclusively residential space," Benke emphasizes.
Neighborhood conflicts arise because residents don't want workshop noise. Tradespeople therefore need smaller, affordable commercial spaces on the outskirts of towns, which isn't always easy or conflict-free from a planning perspective, as agricultural land also needs to be protected. These are all issues that trade associations are addressing.
"We want to open people's eyes to the fact that rural areas are not just surplus areas for skilled trades, but rather areas of the future," explains Benke. And for this, companies need not only fast internet, trainees, and commercial space, but also access to funding. Many funding instruments for rural areas are currently only available to agriculture, reports the ZDH expert.
Therefore, it is a first success that the Federal Council paved the way for the further development of the "Joint Task for Agricultural Structure and Coastal Protection" (GAK) at the beginning of July 2018. Following an amendment to the Basic Law, small and medium-sized craft businesses could then also use this funding instrument. The craft sector had long advocated for this.
The GRW funds (Joint Task for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures), which are also of interest , are in fact only aimed at medium-sized companies with supra-regional sales (50 kilometers and more). The majority of craft businesses are excluded.
For many years, the ZDH has been trying to open both joint tasks, the GRW and the GAK, more to craft businesses. In 2016, they achieved partial opening of the GAK to non-agricultural micro-enterprises, but this is still very bureaucratic.
"We don't want a permanent subsidy, but rather to compensate for locational disadvantages," emphasizes Carsten Benke. "The funding is intended to help companies overcome innovation hurdles. We're not talking about billions." The Federal Council's vote to further open up the GAK offers hope, he says, but it may still take some time before the Basic Law is amended.
Strengthening rural areas is also a major theme in the coalition agreement. Around 1,5 billion euros more is to be made available by 2021. This is intended to help maintain public services, mitigate demographic change, and strengthen volunteerism.
Volunteer work in the local community plays a significant role in the skilled trades. In the Westerwald and Saarland regions, for example, many businesses participate in the "Hands Up for Skilled Trades" campaign . Launched at the end of 2015 by the Westerwald district's economic development agency, the project received an award in 2017 as part of the federal "People and Successes" program. In 2016, the Saarpfalz economic development agency and the Palatinate Chamber of Skilled Crafts adopted the concept.
The aim is to use various activities to show young people what great future careers there are in the skilled trades. And to raise awareness among rural populations about the importance of energy efficiency.
Craftsmen must remain visible, engage in the community, also together with other businesses and agriculture, and visit schools," emphasizes Carsten Benke. Such actions are exemplary in this regard. In order not to miss the boat, however, businesses must also modernize and keep pace with digitalization. If this succeeds, then living and working in the countryside offers many advantages.
Examples: Businesses can expand in rural areas, as land prices are significantly lower than in metropolitan areas. They can benefit from contracts related to the energy transition, since wind farms and biogas plants are built in rural areas. Businesses can establish themselves as service providers for an older clientele and find more stable social structures. Administrative processes are often quick and less bureaucratic, there is a loyal customer base, and the quality of life is high.
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