Standstill at autobahn worksites Shortage of road construction specialists in NRW
Düsseldorf · The new state government has promised less congestion on roadways by better organizing the construction sites. But there is a shortage of specialized staff and this jeopardizes important projects. Help might come from abroad.
Construction sites on North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) autobahns have been slowed down by a shortage of skilled workers, according to information received by the General Anzeiger. Some circles in the construction industry say it’s about hundreds of workers while other experts talk about a four-digit number.
Traffic researcher Michael Schreckenberg from the University of Duisburg-Essen, confirmed the information, saying that NRW was short of many road construction workers and that “this is a very big problem.” The lack of skilled labor means it is also not possible to carry on with the work in the evening hours, according to the traffic expert.
Large number of construction sites
Adding to the problem is the large number of construction sites on autobahns throughout the country. “We currently have 120. Normal is to have around 100 at the same time,” said Ingrid Scholtz from NRW Roadworks. Those with knowledge in the industry, say the large number of construction sites contributes to not having enough skilled workers.
Workers in the EU not available
The shortage of workers is a real problem for the new state government, which promised to reduce congestion through better organization when it came to road construction. Transportation Minister Hendrick Wüst (CDU) did not want to comment on the situation at this time. However, our editorial staff has learned from government circles that they are considering taking in workers from non-EU countries as they can’t get workers from the EU.
Demographic changes affect construction industry
It seems the main cause of the problem is a massive dismantling of jobs in construction companies in the past years. “Add to that, the federal government has hugely increased its investment, but companies are not able to find enough new employees so quickly,” said a spokesperson for the Bauindustrieverbands NRW (NRW Construction Industry Association).
"Demographic change also affects the construction industry. For us, it is more difficult than before to attract young people for jobs in the construction industry,” said the spokesperson. "With the new state government, we have to find solutions."
Not enough engineers
Besides construction workers, there is also a lack of engineers for the autobahn construction sites. “We have a lot of catching up to do. We need 100 new engineers every single year.” Ingrid Scholtz of NRW Roads, says it’s difficult to get the engineers because they have to compete for them on the open market. “And that market that has already been swept clean. “ (Orig. text: Christian Schwerdtfeger)
