Kompetensjakten – 10 000 nya medarbetare med högre utbildning inom fem år – hur ska det gå till?
Erscheinungsdatum: 2 Januar 2023 | Sprache der Studie: SV
The Innovation and Chemical Industries in Sweden (IKEM) represents chemical and innovation companies in Sweden and abroad, industries characterized by high complexity, and which have a significant role in Swedish economy and growth. In 2020, they accounted for 21 percent of Sweden’s merchandise exports. Furthermore, they employ 10 percent of all employees in the Swedish manufacturing industry.
The industries are characterized by a high level of knowledge and technology, which becomes clear if you look at the distribution of skills between different levels of education. More than half of the employees have a higher education. This should be seen in relation to the manufacturing industry, where barely a third have higher education. The industries are grappling with great difficulties in finding the skills and expertise needed and three out of five companies state that the recruitment difficulties mean that they cannot develop products and services as planned or that they miss out on potential business as a result.
The challenges in finding the skills needed do not appear to be easier in the future. Data from IKEM suggests that employment could increase by 12% , equivalent to around 6,000 jobs, over the next five years as a result of increased growth. A majority of these will consists of higher educated people. In addition, between ten and fifteen percent of those employees with a higher education will retire within the next five years.
There is also a group of employees without a higher education but who works in roles that traditionally require a such. A majority of these will be replaced by people with a higher education when they retire. Along with the projected increase in growth, the industries forecast a need to recruit 4,500-6,000 people with higher education within five years.
If the current development continues at approximately the same pace, this means that the industries need to recruit between 8,000 and 12,000 highly educated people by 2030. In addition, the need for researchers is predicted to increase by between 4,000 and 8,000 people. Overall, this represents a major challenge.
To cover future skills needs, the industries need to employ every fourth person who graduates in computers, electronics and automation, skills that the entire Swedish labor market competes for, as well as 65 percent of all those who graduate in chemistry and physics.The challenges in the supply of skills are a threat to the development and growth of the industries in the future and require quick actions.
