“There has never been more to do,” says the FDP. Scholz wants to “tackle it”, the Greens are “ready” for change, and even the CDU, which has been a ruling party for 16 years, is proclaiming a “decade of modernization”. So it seems that something has to change in Germany common sense to be, but is the country ready for it? The consulting firm McKinsey examined this question in a study. The result is mixed.
Of the employees subject to social security contributions, 70 percent consider it essential that there is a substantial, technologically driven change. Only the younger ones between 20 and 29 years of age believe that a change will improve the social and economic situation in Germany, the older ones are more skeptical. They fear that the new technologies have not yet been sufficiently tested, and some also admit that they would rather follow old habits.
According to the study authors Graciana Petersen and Gérard Richter from McKinsey, if Germany wants to keep up with competing countries such as the USA or China, one must rely on technology leadership. “If Germany wants, it can too,” says Richter. In research and development one is always in the top group globally, but many initiatives are “too fragmented”. In order to master the complex challenges of the present, one has to focus more strongly.
Attitudes towards technology have to change
In Petersen’s opinion, this must be accompanied by a change in attitudes towards technology. “We have to find a common language that transparently conveys why a creative renewal with technological leadership is necessary,” she demands. Politics, business and educational institutions have to take up and answer the fears and questions of the population in connection with change. For example, whether jobs have always been lost as a result of automation. Young people must also be made interested in entrepreneurship. Petersen: “The path to a civil servant or employee relationship is not an automatic one.”
The study authors are of the opinion that the necessary rapid change can only be achieved through technology. In view of finite resources, however, measurable goals are also necessary. Initiatives would have to be prioritized in a comprehensible manner and progress checked regularly. The state and the economy would have to work together more closely than before. More than 70 percent of the 5,000 respondents between the ages of 20 and 65 agree. The respondents would like more cooperation between the state and business, especially in the areas of lifelong further training, in basic research and in the implementation of scientific findings in practice.
And what, if it were up to the advisors, would be the most important tasks of the future federal government? It should “bring about and shape the next generation of global technology, especially technologies for renewable energies, biorevolution and applied artificial intelligence,” says Graciana Petersen. The budget for research and development must be gradually increased to five percent of the gross domestic product, and the results must be carefully evaluated. The public sector must be more result-oriented and future-oriented in the areas of digitalization, the energy transition and investments in infrastructure.
The education system is under criticism
The consultants also see a major task facing society when it comes to changes in the world of work. The country must create ten million jobs in various fields of activity “that help shape the change to a more innovative and creative society,” says Petersen. The education system in particular scores very poorly in the survey. Not even a third believe that it is preparing the coming generation well for the demands of the future. Technical skills are not even at the top, but social skills, only then do things like software development or agile work come.
But there is still a lot to be done in terms of infrastructure. For example, Germany is even lagging behind some Eastern European countries in the expansion of fiber optic lines, not to mention Japan, South Korea or Sweden. And by the time this is more or less completed, the first lines have to be replaced again, because the glass fibers won’t last for more than 30 or 40 years – if they don’t fall victim to an excavator beforehand. So there is a lot to do, no matter who wins the election on September 26th.