Many companies already have a powerful advertising medium for recruiting skilled workers, but it's often not used consistently: their own company website. (Photo: © alphaspirit/123RF.com)
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Digital Crafts - Theme specials
February 2020
Crafts 4.0: The internet is the number one source of information for trainees and skilled workers. Employers need to present themselves optimally online. This includes an appealing website.
The shortage of skilled workers in the skilled trades will continue to worsen in 2020: There are already around 250.000 vacancies, and there's a shortage of up to 20.000 apprentices annually. Therefore, companies need new strategies to secure the best skilled workers and inspire young people to pursue apprenticeships in the skilled trades.
Many companies already have access to a particularly powerful advertising medium, but they often don't use it consistently: their own company website. There, you can usually learn a lot about products and services—but hardly anything about the company as an employer. This means that skilled tradespeople are missing out on valuable opportunities. Today, most employees are already being sought online:
According to the statistics portal Statista.de, almost 78 percent of all employers posted their job openings on online job boards in 2019. Job seekers then automatically click through to the company's homepage – but if no meaningful information is available there, the chances of receiving an application plummet.
Corresponding additions to your own website can usually be implemented quickly: There should be a separate Menu item on the topic "Career" or "Job Offers" With an additional, prominently placed button on the homepage, applicants redirected from job boards can find the right path even faster.
In addition to current job postings, the subpages can also provide an overview of various career fields within your own company – from trainees to management positions.
It is particularly appealing and convincing when current employees present their professional field themselves. In conjunction with social media, such as Facebook or Instagram, an even better reach can be achieved, especially among younger people.
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Operations management
For Vacancies Companies should ensure that they not only formulate their requirements for applicants, but also offer concrete benefits in return. In times of skilled labor shortages, the cards are completely new: Nowadays, employers must present convincing arguments to prospective applicants – because experienced specialists can choose their boss at will due to the multitude of open positions.
With phrases like "interesting projects" and "performance-based compensation," companies are no longer getting very far in the competition for the best specialists. Therefore, it's important to do some convincing work in advance on your own online career pages: What sets the company apart from its competitors? What values does the company uphold? And what are the concrete benefits for employees?
Such a concept of presenting oneself as an attractive employer will also Employer Branding (employer branding). At the same time, companies should go into more detail on their career pages to attract new employees.
For example, what specific offerings do they offer in terms of occupational safety, hardware and software, or working time regulations? What is their unique selling point as a regional employer? Is there a company health management program? And how is their corporate philosophy lived and implemented on a daily basis?
More on this topic: Employer branding
To stand out from the competition, companies should highlight their passion for skilled trades on their career pages, as well as highlighting their company's unique characteristics—for example, outstanding successes as an employer, long-term employee service, or competition wins. Applicants are also often interested in facts and figures, such as the number of apprentices or master craftsman graduates.
But social skills are also often more important to prospective students than one might think, for example membership in examination boards, volunteer activities or supporting regional sports teams and schools.
A dedicated button for easy online applications is also very important. And when enough employees have been recruited, companies should not immediately take their career pages offline, but think about the future: It is usually advisable to advertise unsolicited applications and internship positions on a permanent basis – because it is possible that a suitable employee will be urgently needed as early as next month.
Employer branding not only strengthens your Attractiveness as an employer to the outside world, but also the Internal employee retentionBy answering the following questions, you can show potential customers what your company stands for. Professional preparation of content for your Online career sites is an important step to optimize your employer brand.
Potential applicants, skilled workers, and trainees can often be attracted by selected, yet special benefits. This way, you can successfully retain employees in your company for the long term. Ideas for possible benefits include:
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