Figures and sources
Every figure on this website is listed here, with its source and period.
If a number is not on this page, it appears nowhere else on this website either.
Last reviewed in August 2026. Where a source appears on a cycle, we name the edition, not just the year.
Four values, four sources
39%
of core skills change or become outdated
691,500
people employed in vehicle manufacturing
EUR 1,347
training spend per employee and year
357,000
vacancies that cannot arithmetically be filled
Change in skills
What the figure means
An estimate of how much of today's core skill set will be outdated by 2030. The breakdown across 100 workers is the more robust version, because it separates upskilling, reskilling and lack of access.
What it does not mean
Not a measurement but a survey of employers. The value has fallen in every edition since 2020. Presenting it as a growing threat reads it backwards.
| Statement | Value | Source | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of core skills that will change or become outdated | 39 percent | World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025 | 2025 to 2030 |
| The same value in earlier editions of the same report | 57 percent (2020), 44 percent (2023) | World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report | 2020 and 2023 editions |
| Out of 100 workers: upskilled within their current role | 29 | World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025 | by 2030 |
| Out of 100 workers: reskilled and moved to a different role in the company | 19 | World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025 | by 2030 |
| Out of 100 workers: training needed but no access in sight | 11 | World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025 | by 2030 |
Employment in the German automotive industry
What the figure means
Official statistics count the people actually employed. It shows a decline that has already happened, which makes it the hardest figure on this page. The VDA projection, by contrast, describes an expectation.
What it does not mean
The decline says nothing about how many employees see their work change. Job losses and changing work are two processes, and for the second there is no robust figure.
| Statement | Value | Source | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| People employed in vehicle manufacturing | 691,500 | Federal Statistical Office, press release of 14 August 2026 | end of the first half of 2026 |
| Change against the previous year | 42,300 fewer, a fall of 5.8 percent | Federal Statistical Office, press release of 14 August 2026 | year-on-year |
| People employed by manufacturers of parts and accessories | 219,500, a fall of 7.6 percent | Federal Statistical Office, press release of 14 August 2026 | end of the first half of 2026 |
| Lowest employment level of the sector in the reported series | never fewer people employed since 2005 | Federal Statistical Office, press release of 14 August 2026 | 2005 to 2026 |
| Expected job losses against 2019 | up to 225,000, of which around 100,000 have already occurred | VDA, based on a Prognos study, May 2026 | by 2035 |
The powertrain transition in Europe
What the figure means
The ELAB2040 study models scenarios for powertrain production. The figure comes from the strictest of those scenarios and describes jobs that are at stake within it.
What it does not mean
Three clarifications that regularly slip: Europe rather than Germany, the powertrain rather than the whole sector, jobs at risk in an extreme scenario rather than jobs already lost.
| Statement | Value | Source | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jobs in European powertrain production at stake in the strictest scenario | up to 726,000 out of around 1.6 million | Fraunhofer IAO, ELAB2040 study, July 2026 | by 2040 |
Training in German companies
What the figure means
The survey measures how much money and time companies actually put into training. Neither budget nor willingness is the bottleneck, training happens almost everywhere.
What it does not mean
It says nothing about whether that training matches what is currently changing in the plant. That is precisely where QualiShift starts. And the data year is 2022, not a current reading.
| Statement | Value | Source | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training spend per employee and year | 1,347 euros | German Economic Institute, IW training survey | data year 2022 |
| Training hours per employee and year | 20.3 hours | German Economic Institute, IW training survey | data year 2022 |
| Total volume of workplace training | 46.4 billion euros | German Economic Institute, IW training survey | data year 2022 |
| Share of companies offering training | 93 percent | German Economic Institute, IW training survey | data year 2022 |
Rule of this page
When we need a figure that is not listed here, we leave it out and put the point qualitatively. A statement without a number beats a number without evidence.
Skilled labour
What the figure means
The gap states the vacancies for which there are, arithmetically, no suitably qualified unemployed people. It explains why internal qualification is often more realistic than external recruitment.
What it does not mean
A monthly reading, not an annual average, and no statement about a single plant or a single region.
| Statement | Value | Source | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacancies in Germany that cannot arithmetically be filled | around 357,000 | Competence Centre for Securing Skilled Labour, German Economic Institute | as of March 2026 |
| Share of all open vacancies | about one third | Competence Centre for Securing Skilled Labour, German Economic Institute | as of March 2026 |
Law and standards
What the figure means
Not estimates but published rules: a statute that recognises the case, and classifications that our skill model follows.
What it does not mean
The qualification allowance is not a product promise. We assess no eligibility and quote no percentages on the level of the benefit, because we have not verified them.
| Statement | Value | Source | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification allowance as wage replacement during training within employment | in force since 1 April 2024 | Section 82a SGB III | since 2024 |
| Company threshold for structural change driven qualification needs | at least 20 percent of the workforce, at least 10 percent in companies below 250 employees | Section 82a SGB III, documented in a works agreement or collective agreement | since 2024 |
| Occupations in the European ESCO classification | 3,039 | European Commission, ESCO | version 1.2.1 of 10 December 2025 |
| Skill concepts in ESCO | 13,939 | European Commission, ESCO | version 1.2.1 of 10 December 2025 |
| Languages ESCO is available in | 28 | European Commission, ESCO | version 1.2.1 of 10 December 2025 |
| Occupations in O*NET, usable under CC BY 4.0 | 1,016 | US Department of Labor, O*NET | version 30.3 |
| Competence levels in the German Qualifications Framework | 8, split into professional competence and personal competence | German Qualifications Framework | current version |
| Recognised apprenticeship occupations in Germany | 324 | Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training | current register |
| Standard training elements that apply to every apprenticeship occupation | digitalisation, sustainability, law, safety | Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training | current version |
Our own figures
Why there are no figures of our own here
Pages like this one usually carry numbers such as “40 percent less planning effort”. Ours do not, and the reason is unremarkable: QualiShift has no customers yet from which an effect could be calculated.
As soon as there are robust results from use at partner companies, they will appear here, with the method, the reference base and the period. Not before.
Correction
A figure missing, or wrong?
If you read a source differently, or consider a value outdated, write to us. We correct the page and note the change.