What can Debrecen do?

\"Quality vocational education and training is the adequate answer to the labour shortage\" - began Éva Skultéti, Secretary General of the County Chamber (HBKIK). She added that, unlike in previous decades, workers are changing jobs more quickly. Thus, companies need to put more emphasis on retention. Barbara Zollmann, CEO of the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DUIHK), also stressed that recruitment and retention are two key issues for business organisations, which is why this business forum was organised.

Barbara Zollmann, CEO of the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DUIHK): key question is how to find and keep employees

"Since 2015, €12 billion worth of investment has come into the city. Thiscould create 20,000 new jobs by 2030, and these are quality, well-paying jobs," said Zoltán Pécskay, CEO of EDC, the city's investment promotion company, outlining Debrecen's success story over the past decade. Of these, 7,000 jobs have been filled so far. The CEO said that German companies have always been present in the city, with Schaeffler, Manz and Deutsche Telekom having set up in the city in the past. In the investment boom that started in 2015, Krones was the first to arrive, followed by BMW.

In ten years, the number of workers in the city has risen from 84,000 to 91,000, 60,000 of whom are employed by companies, two-thirds of them small and medium-sized enterprises. Debrecen started from a big disadvantage compared to other economic powerhouses in Hungary, but has made up for it. While 79% of the working-age population in Budapest and 85% in Győr are employed, the figure in Debrecen is 69%. This is still a low proportion, but Zoltán Pécskay hopes to close the gap by 2030. "The 69 percent employment rate also indicates that there is still a labour reserve in the city. We are also seeing more and more former Debrecen residents returning home from Budapest, the west of the country or abroad because they see opportunities here."

Zoltán Pécskay said that the city's strong educational background, its vocational training institutions and university were important factors in the investment decisions. In recent years, the number of students has increased, which also indicates that there will be a greater draw for companies when these young people graduate. Ten years ago, there were 11,000 unemployed young people starting their careers in the city, now there are only 4,500, meaning that almost everyone can find a job immediately.

Zoltán Pécskay: 20,000 new jobs in Debrecen by 2030

The EDC Debrecen will focus on small and medium-sized enterprises in the coming period. They will help them to improve their HR and work efficiency through training, and they are also working with the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce on this.

The labour resources of the North Great Plain region were highlighted by Erika Salamonné Maráczi, training development expert at the German-Hungarian Knowledge Centre. Citing KSH figures, she said that unemployment in the three county capitals of the region - Debrecen, Nyíregyháza, Szolnok - is below 3 percent, which already means full employment. In contrast, the average for the three counties including small towns and villages is 5.8 percent. He considers important the recently announced government programmes (we wrote about them here earlier - editor's note), which aim to get young people into work, support their mobility and target the inactive.



Local educational institutions play a key role in providing the workforce in Debrecen. It was said that a strong educational background was necessary for so many companies to locate in the city.

Vocational training is no longer a dead end: competition for places

The local base for training graduates is the University of Debrecen, where more than 10,000 people start their studies every year, including 2,000 foreigners. The institution is one of only three Hungarian universities (along with Pécs and Szeged) that offer a full range of higher education courses. Most of the foreign students study in English, and with degrees in engineering, IT and economics, they can easily find jobs in international companies. Elek Bartha, Deputy Rector for Education, also drew attention to the specialised further education courses: these are more flexible, can be started more quickly and the content is developed in cooperation with the company partners.

The 11 schools belonging to the Debrecen Vocational Training Centre, which is in contact with 250 corporate dual partners, teach seventy professions and train 12,000 young people, said Zsolt Tirpák, chancellor of the Debrecen Vocational Training Centre. Since 2015, the number of students in vocational education has almost doubled. "However, it is not enough to attract children to vocational training, we also need to offer them a vision of the future and a career path, which we can only do together with our corporate partners", the Chancellor stressed. "The advantage of dual training is that companies have a greater role to play, with more 'enterprise-ready' students graduating from them".

R Zsolt Tirpák noted that the perception of vocational training has changed over the last ten years. "There is now serious competition for applications. Those who come here do not choose a dead end. You socialise in a corporate environment, you get a profession that you can get a job in immediately after graduation. The doors of higher education are not closing for them either." They are currently working with the University of Debrecen to enable students to enter university through a simplified admission procedure. That is, if they meet the requirements in the final year, they will automatically be admitted.

From left to right: Zsolt Tirpák (Debrecen Vocational Training Centre), Péter Szabó (Schaeffler Debrecen Kft.), Zsolt Boros (Vámosgép Kft.), Elek Bartha (University of Debrecen), Erika Salamonné Maráczi (German-Hungarian Knowledge Centre)

Automation is coming, skills levels need to be raised

One of the longest-established German-backed multinationals here is automotive supplier Schaeffler Debrecen, which arrived 25 years ago. Managing director Péter Szabó said 700 of their 1,600 staff have been with the company for an average of 13 years. They initially trained their staff themselves and then joined the dual training system. He noted that thinking three to four years ahead is the key to succession planning.

P Péter Szabó drew attention to an important trend, automation, which is challenging the labour market. It means that typically low value-added jobs are being replaced by machines. As a consequence, there will be no need for people to do this kind of work, but there will be a shortage of more highly skilled workers. This is why the level of skills needs to be raised.