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Personalvermittlung, Zeitarbeit, Werkverträge

Finding Welders during the Skilled Labor Shortage

Welders are being sought everywhere, and this has become increasingly urgent. Shortages are being reported across the entire industry, and the problem has long reached a global scale. Job offers for welders can be found everywhere. The question for companies nowadays is how they can meet the demand for skilled workers.

Table of contents:

The Problem of Skilled Labor Shortage

There is a growing shortage of welders worldwide, and its impact is becoming increasingly evident. In Germany, every other company complains about difficulties when it comes to finding qualified workers. The trades in general are facing ever-greater challenges in finding appropriately trained young talent. This is due to two main reasons:
Firstly, there is a growing trend toward academic education. As a result, more than 40% of workers aged 30 and older hold a university degree.
Secondly, many girls and women do not feel confident entering trades or manual labor professions.
One solution for the skilled labor shortage is to hire foreign workers. In this context, foreign students are to be tied to local companies and apply their talents in the domestic industry. Another way to address the skilled labor shortage is through pooling. In this model, skilled workers are not exclusively available to one company. Instead, they use other work options such as temporary work or freelancing to be available to various businesses depending on need.

In-house Permanent Employment

With the skilled labor shortage, it is becoming increasingly difficult for individual companies to find suitable personnel, especially welders. The solution to this could lie in the form of in-house recruitment.

The advantage is that permanent employees can be tied to the company for the long term. This is especially true for newcomers to the profession, as they can gain work experience within the company. Training programs supported by the company improve their qualifications and further bind them to the business.

The result is that these workers are available to the company whenever needed. However, the downside is that they must always be paid. If there is no current demand, they are still employed and incur costs.

Furthermore, the company must develop a strategy to find welders. This involves marketing efforts to attract potential workers. It is also labor-intensive to develop a selection process with its own criteria and then implement it as part of the recruitment process. This requires company resources, which are often needed elsewhere, especially in smaller businesses.

Once hired, it can be difficult to part ways with welders in the event of restructuring or changes in demand. This could lead to legal disputes and other negative consequences. Therefore, it is important to consider whether hiring a permanent welder in-house, with their constant availability, is worth the effort.

Recruiting with a Staffing Agency

A permanent position can also be filled by using a staffing agency. The advantage of this is that the permanently employed welder is constantly available to the company. Additionally, the staffing agency develops and implements the recruitment process. Not only does this free up resources within the company, but the staffing agency also brings relevant experience. This reduces the risk of wasting resources or hiring the wrong professional.
However, hiring a staffing agency comes with higher costs. These costs do not affect the risk, as often payment is only made for the successful placement of the welder. Once success is achieved, the fee for the staffing agency is due.
Moreover, the disadvantages of ongoing wage costs due to changes in workload and the difficulty of termination in the case of company restructuring still apply. The only difference is that the recruitment effort is transferred to the staffing agency with higher costs.

The Welder as a Temporary Worker

Another approach is to obtain the required welders through employee leasing. This comes with a number of advantages. It starts with the fact that the leasing company takes over the recruitment process, eliminating the effort that would otherwise be required for this task.
Additionally, welders can be leased exactly when they are needed according to the workload. The leasing arrangement can also be terminated if the workload changes. This means that the wage costs for the leased welder are only incurred as long as they are working for the client.
Moreover, temporary work comes with a special benefit. The leased welder works at the client company, where they can prove themselves. If the workload requires it, the temporary worker can quickly be hired as a permanent employee. Thanks to the previous temporary work, the risk of hiring the wrong person is minimized.
The disadvantage is that it cannot be guaranteed that a suitably qualified welder will be available as a temporary worker when needed. Additionally, it is not cost-effective for the leasing company to train the welder to become welder. Instead, the worker is simply employed based on their existing experience and qualifications, and then let go afterwards.

The Welder via a Work Contract

Another alternative is to hire a contracting company via a work contract for welding tasks. This means that the welder does not become part of the company. Instead, the contracting company is hired to complete the work that includes welding. The contracting company deploys its own welders and is paid for the successful completion of the work.
The advantages here are that short-term needs or peak demands can be handled effectively. Moreover, the costs are predictable from the start, as payment is made for the completion of the work. The effort involved and the costs incurred by the contracting company are solely their responsibility.
This also reduces the risk for the client, as payment is only made for the successful completion of work. If there is no further need for welders, no new work order will be placed. If necessary, the client can even terminate the existing work contract at any time.
Similar to temporary work, there is also the option to offer a welder from the contracting company a permanent position after completing the work.
However, there is the same main disadvantage as with temporary work: There is no guarantee that a suitable contracting company with welders will be available when needed.

The Welder as a Freelancer

Hiring a welder as a freelancer means entering into a work contract with them. This brings the same advantages and disadvantages as seen with a contracting company and the use of a work contract

Which Countries Provide the Best Welders

Especially with the skilled labor shortage, more and more foreign workers are filling the gap. Naturally, the question arises as to which countries provide the best welders.
Regarding their home countries, welders from Eastern Europe tend to be more modest when it comes to compensation. They are also known for delivering high-quality work. However, the problem is that they don’t always integrate easily into the core workforce due to language difficulties or cultural differences. Therefore, employers must take certain measures to overcome cultural and linguistic barriers.
This is even more true for welders from Asia. Vietnam, in particular, is known for producing good welders, whose salary expectations are still much lower than those from Eastern Europe. However, the requirements are high here as well due to the different culture and language. As a result, these workers should receive support with their integration, language learning, and adapting to daily life. This includes explaining shopping options, especially in regard to Asian cuisine, and clarifying German customs in terms of interpersonal interaction.
Lithuania and Latvia are known for their active shipbuilding industries. Therefore, welders from these countries are also highly skilled, especially when it comes to the local shipbuilding sector. The cultural barriers are not as high, but linguistic support should still be provided.

Conclusion

Finding and permanently hiring a welder means investing considerable effort without guaranteed success. In the case of hiring, there are ongoing wage costs, even if the workload changes.
Finding a welder through a staffing agency and hiring them permanently increases the chances of success. The risk is also reduced, as payment is only made in the event of success. However, costs for the company rise, while other efforts are reduced. Ultimately, though, there are still ongoing wage costs due to the permanent employment, which remain even if the workload changes.
Using a welder through employee leasing makes it easier to find the right worker. It also simplifies the termination of wage costs if the workload changes. The only risk is that a welder may not be available exactly when needed.
Using a work contract , whether as a freelancer or through a contracting company, presents the same advantages and disadvantages. The effort is reduced, and the work contract can be terminated at any time. However, there is no guarantee of finding a welder when needed.