Handels-Software-Partner overcomes the talent shortage with skilling apprenticeships

It is no secret anymore that the labor market lacks suitable specialists. According to the Economic Barometer 2019 of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, 61% of companies are concerned about finding suitable candidates for vacancies, and the skills shortage is considered the biggest business risk for the German economy. While other companies need to source internationally to attract employees, Hamburg-based hsp Handels-Software-Partner (hsp) has found its own solution to the problem.

As it became apparent that the search for suitable professionals in the software industry was becoming increasingly difficult, hsp decided to simply train itself. For ten years, young people have been learning professions in application development, system integration and media design, and the initiative is a complete success. This summer alone, four apprentices completed their apprenticeship and were immediately taken on for employment. This is worthwhile for both sides: the young people already have a perspective on a long-term employment relationship at the beginning of the apprenticeship and hsp Handels-Software-Partner can pass on critical in-house knowledge during the apprenticeship.

"For us, as a smaller company, training always represents a valuable investment that pays off in the long term. Our apprentices are involved in all processes right from the start and learn to take on responsibility early and to be part of the team," says Managing Director Paul Liese about their success. 

Where the applicants come from is completely unimportant to the company - the main thing is that they are motivated and they want to become part of the team. Meanwhile, there are employees from seven different nationalities, applicants with a migration background are expressly welcome and are not only technically trained, but also actively supported in learning the German language. 

The apprentices are also enthusiastic about the hsp initiative:

"I think it's good to work in a group as a team. We as migrants have different cultures and learn differently. In our culture, you learn at school or at university, not in the company. At hsp I learned a lot and I like being able to work independently," says Khaled Alhamdo Algoursh. 

"Our trainers have always taken the time to answer our questions and help us learn the training expertise. In addition, I think it's good that we are allowed to work on Opti.Tax during the apprenticeship in order to gain practical experience," says Marvin Boos. 

According to the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, 58,000 jobs will not be filled this year - a problem that hsp's initiative may shed light on as a solution.

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