With digital processes against the shortage of skilled workers

At the beginning of the 2023 training year, many apprenticeship positions will again remain unfilled - even though there is a shortage of trained skilled workers everywhere. Companies must therefore come up with something to win the "war for talents". Mario Voge, Head of Growth Management at Swisscom Trust Services, shows how digital recruiting can help.

In June 2023, the German Federal Employment Agency recorded 40,000 open apprenticeship positions. The situation is similar with craftsmen positions: at the end of june there are still about 36,000 apprentice jobs open. Although apprenticeship contracts are still regularly concluded in the summer months and even after the regular start date, the fundamental mismatch between advertised vacancies and applicants probably persists. This puts companies in a real competitive situation for apprentices who are practically free to choose their company.

Advantages can start in the application process

Gen Z, which is interested in apprenticeship programs, is extremely digitally affine and has the highest demands in terms of user experience - anytime, fast and easy. They know apps from their private lives that score points with optimal user experience and offer things like one-click ordering. Companies should look at the application process from the candidate's perspective: Meanwhile, they are competing for the limited number of applicants, and those who provide a one-click application can undoubtedly gain an advantage.

What we see in reality, however, is usually far from that. If there are digital processes, they are often complicated. For example, Data from the CV, has to be retyped after it has already been uploaded. Such process steps, which are perceived as unnecessary, can put off young applicants.

Even if the application process is already largely digitalized, the next bottleneck lurks in the signing of the employment or, more precisely, apprenticeship contract. Contracts are mostly still printed out and signed by hand, which requires mailing or personal appearance. Both are time-consuming. If paper contracts cause long circulation times, there is a risk that potential trainees or employees will accept an offer from the competition during this time.

Electronic contracts accelerate recruiting

If companies succeed in introducing digital contract management for the application process, they can drastically reduce the turnaround times of the contract process - theoretically to just a few minutes. If applicants have the possibility to sign directly after their verbal acceptance, this should reduce the number of rejections. It also makes it easier for companies to sign contracts with out-of-town applicants - without them having to be on site for a face-to-face interview or waiting a long time for mail. A quick handling of the entire contract process also brings advantages when it comes to attracting short-tempered apprentices quickly before the start of training. In addition, the digital process reduces costs in the company.

To ensure that digital contracts are legally compliant, companies should make sure to use a qualified electronic signature (QES) . This form of electronic signature is based on a special certificate issued by a so-called trust service provider (for example Swisscom Trust Services). These certificates are in turn based on the procedure of asymmetric cryptography and are strictly regulated by the legislator. This means that the QES can also replace the analoge signature in court, provided that no deviating legal or contractual regulations take precedence, and this also applies to employment contracts with a written form requirement. The QES from Swisscom Trust Services can be integrated into various signature platforms on the market. In addition, the company has various partners who can help with the integration of QES as a white-label solution in a company's own systems.

Customer success stories

Customer success stories

With digital processes against the shortage of skilled workers

Advantages can start in the application process

Electronic contracts accelerate recruiting

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