Skills shortages in shipbuilding: strategies adopted by shipyards

The German shipbuilding industry has a constant need for qualified and experienced specialists. At the same time, like many other technical sectors, the industry is facing a significant skills shortage. If you are a shipyard or a supplier looking to find out which approaches have proven effective in practice for filling vacancies, this article provides an overview: from temporary work and recruitment agencies to contract work and direct recruitment. You will learn which model is appropriate in which situation and how you Employee leasing use specifically to address short-term staff shortages.

Why is the German shipbuilding industry facing a shortage of skilled workers?

The German shipbuilding industry is a highly specialised sector. However, this also means that there is a constant need for new and, above all, experienced skilled workers. We are looking for skilled workers from a range of professions, including welders, electronics technicians, design engineers, engineers and project managers.

Other technical sectors are also experiencing a shortage of skilled workers. The reasons for this are manifold and are linked to demographic trends, increasing international competition and technological change.

What strategies do shipyards use to attract new skilled workers?

Shipyards and supply companies must therefore find additional ways to attract skilled workers and retain them in the long term. To this end, they are employing various strategies. These include, in addition to temporary staffing agencies and recruitment agencies, contractors and direct recruitment in collaboration with schools and universities.

How does temporary agency work help to tackle staff shortages in shipbuilding?

Temporary agency work, also known as temporary employment or agency work, can help shipyards to cope with temporary staff shortages. To this end, companies engage recruitment agencies, which provide them with qualified specialists for a limited period. These specialists are deployed on a temporary basis and, as a rule, return to the agency at the end of the assignment, unless a permissible permanent appointment has been agreed.

The advantages of this solution for shipyards are:

• A high degree of flexibility that enables them to respond to peaks in orders without permanently increasing staff costs
• The provision of suitable skilled staff at relatively short notice, depending on their qualifications, availability and the requirements of the assignment
• A reduction in the administrative burden, as the recruitment agency takes on key employer and administrative responsibilities

How do shipyards use temporary work as a stepping stone to permanent employment?

Further benefits arise from the workforce’s proven track record. If a shipyard wishes to take on additional staff on a permanent basis, it can offer suitable temporary workers a permanent position following their assignment. The shipyard can assess the worker’s professional aptitude and teamwork during their assignment and subsequently offer them a permanent position. This can reduce the effort involved in recruitment. At the same time, the shipyard gains a sound impression of the professional aptitude of potential employees.

In which areas are agency workers typically employed in shipbuilding?

Temporary workers are frequently employed in shipbuilding for welding, pipework, painting and electrical installations. These roles generally require trained specialists with proven professional experience.

Temporary workers are in particular demand during the final stages of shipbuilding. That is when the time pressure is at its greatest. Recruitment agencies source suitable skilled workers from, amongst other places, EU countries with their own shipbuilding industries and maritime traditions. These include Poland, Romania and Croatia. In addition to their training, most of these workers also bring with them solid practical experience.

What are the disadvantages of temporary agency work in shipbuilding?

However, the advantages of this form of employment are offset by a number of disadvantages: staffing agencies cannot always provide the required number of suitable skilled workers at the desired time. Once the assignment has ended, the skilled workers deployed are, in principle, no longer available to the shipyard.

These drawbacks can be significantly mitigated if you work with an experienced recruitment agency that has a robust network of qualified specialists and recommends candidates with verified qualifications – rather than simply placing available staff.

How do recruitment agencies and headhunters support the shipbuilding industry?

Another way of attracting new skilled workers is through recruitment agencies specialising in shipbuilding and specialist headhunters. These agencies offer two key advantages: firstly, they have an extensive network for recruiting qualified professionals; and secondly, they have in-depth knowledge of the maritime sector.

As part of their work, the agencies shortlist candidates, conduct specialist interviews and verify qualifications and references. This significantly reduces the workload for the shipyards’ HR departments.

The benefits of this support in tackling staff shortages are:

• The targeted recruitment of skilled workers with specialist knowledge by headhunters in the shipbuilding industry
• The international reach of the agencies, which often also place candidates from abroad
• Experience in the recruitment and on-the-job integration of international skilled workers, as well as in complying with the applicable legal requirements
• The discretion and professionalism that also make it possible to fill senior positions

Management roles, positions in planning departments and specialist technical roles, in particular, are often difficult to fill. Specialist recruitment consultants are familiar with the relevant candidate markets and know the best ways to target potential candidates.

How do subcontractors operate in the shipbuilding industry?

Contractors in the shipbuilding industry, or subcontractors at shipyards, are a great help in tackling the problems arising from the shortage of skilled workers. The problem with the shortage of skilled workers is that there is no staff available to carry out certain tasks. If a shipyard commissions a contractor to produce a clearly defined end result, the contractor generally carries out the agreed work on its own responsibility.

When placing an order, the client defines specific work packages and the deliverables required. These work packages are assigned to the contractor on the basis of a contract for work and services. Typical work packages relate to pipework, welding and joining techniques, electrical installation and the painting of the ship’s hull.

Unlike in the case of temporary agency work, the staff of the subcontractor are not, as a rule, integrated into the client’s work organisation and do not receive specific work-related instructions from the client. Instead, the staff of the subcontractor remain under the authority of that subcontractor, and the company itself carries out the tasks under its own management. The contractor assembles its own teams, which deliver the agreed work output on behalf of the shipyard under their own responsibility.

This approach is particularly well suited to highly specialised tasks which do not need to be carried out on a continuous basis, but only arise from time to time. As a result, the shipyard does not need to maintain specialised capacity in-house on a permanent basis. The contractor organises its own team and the execution of the work package independently.

What are the advantages of a contract for work and services compared with temporary agency work?

The advantages of this strategy are as follows:

• Specialist expertise can be made available for clearly defined and time-limited work packages; for example, a team of plant engineers or corrosion protection technicians
• Remuneration is contractually agreed for the agreed deliverable and can therefore provide a predictable basis for costing
• The in-house staff are relieved of some of their workload and can concentrate on the areas they normally deal with, or spend most of their time on

Shipyards and main contractors are particularly keen to make use of this type of collaboration when it comes to large-scale projects. On major projects such as cruise ships and offshore platforms, shipyards often work in partnership with specialist contractors. This can involve the deployment of hundreds of workers at the same time.

Feature	Temporary agency work	Contract for Work and Materials (Subcontractor)
Right to issue instructions	Held by the borrower (shipyard)	Lies with the contractor
Type of deployment	Individual specialists, on a project-by-project basis	Entire teams, defined work packages
Typical uses	Short-term staff shortages, final phase of development	Separate trades, major projects
Remuneration	Usually based on time spent or an agreed rate	On the basis of the agreed service or the agreed deliverable

How do shipyards go about direct recruitment and staff retention?

As well as temporary work, recruitment agencies and the use of subcontractors, many German shipyards rely on directly hiring their own skilled workers. The aim is for the shipyard to recruit staff directly, thereby retaining control over the entire process. To this end, the companies use the following methods:

• Online career portals and social media
• Trade events and careers fairs
• Partnerships with various schools and universities
• Dual training programmes in collaboration with vocational schools
• In-house training and professional development programmes

Through these measures, the companies come into direct contact with applicants and can encourage them to pursue a career at the shipyard. In this way, they can identify suitable candidates at an early stage and speed up the selection process.

In addition, the focus is on long-term staff retention. Shipyards invest a great deal of effort, time and money in providing their staff with opportunities for career progression, so that they remain loyal to the company. This enables employees to gain additional qualifications and progress, for example, to become technicians or project managers.

Please note: The use of temporary workers in shipbuilding is subject to the German Temporary Employment Act (AÜG), including provisions on the maximum duration of temporary employment and the principle of equal pay. You can read more about this in our article on Temporary Employment Act (AÜG).. You can find an overview of specific occupations and areas of work in the German shipbuilding industry in our articles on Yacht building and to the military shipbuilding.

Conclusion

There is no single solution to the shortage of skilled workers in shipbuilding. In practice, shipyards combine several approaches: Temporary staffing for short-term peaks in orders and the final phase of construction, Recruitment agencies for specialist and management roles that are difficult to fill, contracts for work for specific specialist trades within large-scale projects and Direct recruitment to retain its own skilled workforce in the long term. By combining these tools in a targeted manner, a company can reliably secure the skilled workers that the shipbuilding industry needs, both now and in the future.

FAQ

Why is the German shipbuilding industry suffering from a shortage of skilled workers?

The causes are demographic trends, increasing international competition and technological change, which constantly requires new skills.

What advantages does temporary work offer shipyards compared with permanent positions?

Temporary work offers flexibility during temporary peaks in workload and can ease the burden on human resources management. However, the availability of temporary staff depends on their qualifications, the location of the assignment and market conditions; furthermore, certain statutory and operational obligations remain with the shipyard.

At which stages of shipbuilding are agency workers particularly needed?

Particularly during the final phase of construction, when time pressure is at its highest and welders, pipeworkers, painters and electricians are needed at short notice.

Can agency workers in the shipbuilding industry be taken on permanently?

Many shipyards make targeted use of agency workers to assess their suitability and subsequently offer them a permanent position within the company.

What is the difference between temporary agency work and a contract for services?

In the case of temporary agency work, the temporary worker is integrated into the shipyard’s work organisation and is subject to its work-related instructions. In the case of a contract for services, the contractor organises the performance of the work on their own responsibility and is obliged to deliver an agreed result.

What are contract-based shipbuilding companies particularly suited to?

For highly specialised trades that are only required from time to time, such as pipework, welding and joining, or paintwork, often in connection with large-scale projects such as cruise ships or offshore platforms.

What role do recruitment agencies and headhunters play in shipbuilding?

They shortlist candidates, conduct technical interviews, check qualifications and references, and are particularly helpful when it comes to hard-to-fill management and specialist roles.

Which countries do many temporary workers in the German shipbuilding industry come from?

Skilled workers are recruited from countries including Poland, Romania and Croatia. Regardless of their country of origin, their training, professional experience and supporting documentation for the role in question must be verified.

How quickly does Zeitarbeit International place skilled workers on a shipyard project?

The time taken to source staff depends on the profile you are looking for and availability. Please contact us at an early stage so that we can arrange for suitable, vetted specialists to be assigned to your project in good time.