Worries mount for German “Mittelstand” as election looms

Christof Rosenberg has been trying for a year to find a skilled toolmaker for the specialist pipe company he runs with his two brothers in western Germany.

Two recruits he brought in and trained failed to master the job. Now he’s having to delay projects by up to six weeks and that’s hurting business at Aquatherm, the 450-strong firm Rosenberg’s father set up in his garage four decades ago.

“The market is completely devoid of well-qualified workers,” Rosenberg told Reuters from the company’s headquarters in Attendorn, an industrial town 90 kilometres east of Cologne.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1275931/worries-mount-german-mittelstand-election-looms