Bavaria’s industrial labour market in transformation

By 2030, there will be profound changes in Bavaria’s industrial labour market due to the ongoing processes of decarbonisation and digitalisation. As a result, industrial companies face an inevitable transformation of their products and processes, which requires a change in the activities and skills of their employees.

The study ‘Bavaria’s industrial labour market in transformation – Measures to surmount decarbonisation and digitalisation in Bavaria until 2030’ commissioned by the BayernSPD parliamentary group focuses on the question of which additional state policy measures can support the Bavarian industry until 2030 to take advantage of the opportunities of the transformation and to master its challenges at the prevailing high level of employment.

As a result, recommendations for measures are developed in three areas of action, targeting companies, current employees and future employees:

1. measures to create a suitable information and support structure
2. measures to provide targeted regional training to employees aiming at preventing future unemployment
3. measures to adapt educational opportunities to demands of the future labour market, supporting future employees.

The Bavarian industry is, compared to the national level, of above-average importance for the labour market. With its high wage level it contributes to social prosperity in Bavaria. Digitalisation and decarbonisation pose significant challenges for the industrial labour market in the upcoming years. Decarbonisation holds employment opportunities in industries that produce climate goods. Industries whose central products are not sustainable run, however, the risk of seeing a decline in employment. Employees in CO2-intensive industries will have to adapt to dynamic requirements in their activities and skills that come along with transforming the processes in industries with high emissions. Digitalisation, on the other side, affects all levels of value creation: the activities of individual employees change, companies adjust processes in their value creation, and industries merge. Opportunities and risks from demographic change accompany the transformation caused by decarbonisation and digitalisation.

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