At least 150,000 additional skilled workers needed for German climate neutrality plans for buildings – association

A lack of skilled workers could hinder Germany reaching its target of climate neutrality in the buildings sector by 2045, writes press agency dpa. The construction sector needs an additional 150,000-200,000 skilled workers, Felix Pakleppa, managing director of the Central Association of the German Construction Industry (ZDB), told the news wire. A report by several consultancies, comissioned by the country’s economy ministry (BMWK), had found that a similar number of workers are needed, as the target would require 1.8 to 1.9 percent of Germany’s housing stock to be renovated each year. However, industry experts told the news agency that it is unclear how these workers will be recruited. "Currently, we are just managing a renovation rate of one per cent per year," said Axel Gedaschko, president of the Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW). "And there is already a massive shortage of materials and skilled workers," he added. On the contrary, the current slowdown in housing construction is having the opposite effect. "We clearly see that on balance the construction industry will cut jobs in Bavaria," Manfred Gößl, the chief executive of the Bavarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, told dpa. The report also found that additional capital in the triple digit billions to trillions will be needed to get the country’s 43 million homes up to standard by the deadline date.

German homes are a big hurdle on the path to greenhouse gas neutrality, as they are responsible for around one-third of the country’s emissions. Nearly two-thirds are still heated with fossil fuels, and most of them also need to be modernised to lower energy demand.