The Swiss labour market is undergoing a major transformation. Engineering, a pillar of the Swiss economy, faces unprecedented challenges in temporary recruitment. With 85,000 vacant positions across the country and a shortage estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 engineers, Switzerland is experiencing a talent crisis that directly impacts its competitiveness.
According to the skilled labour shortage index published by Adecco, engineers top the ranking, ahead of IT specialists and technicians. This structural situation, exacerbated by demographic change, creates both exceptional opportunities for candidates and considerable obstacles for companies.
In this strained context, temporary recruitment appears as a strategic solution allowing companies to respond to market fluctuations, manage peak activity, and trial profiles before a permanent hire. But this approach has its own specific challenges.
This article explores in depth the stakes of temporary recruitment in Swiss engineering, analyzes the causes of the current shortage, and proposes concrete strategies to attract and retain the best temporary talents.
The Challenges of Temporary Recruitment in Switzerland
A Structural and Persistent Shortage
The engineer shortage in Switzerland is not cyclical but structural. Data from economiesuisse and Swiss Engineering reveal that no other professional group experiences such a shortage of specialists. The figures are telling:
- 30,000 engineers missing from the Swiss market.
- Estimated economic loss between 2 and 3 billion francs per year.
- 200 vacant positions at SBB/CFF (Swiss Federal Railways) alone.
- The shortage is expected to worsen due to demographic aging.
The most affected sectors include:
- IT and information technology
- Electronics and electrical engineering
- Automation and embedded systems
- Mechanical and general engineering
- Civil engineering and construction
- Thermal and energy engineering
- Railway engineering
Intense Competition for Talent
The temporary recruitment market in engineering has become highly competitive. Swiss companies are fighting not only among themselves but also against international employers offering remote work.
Marcel Keller, director of Adecco Switzerland, observes a reversal of the power balance: "Today, employers must charm candidates rather than simply select them." This new reality forces companies to completely rethink their recruitment strategies.
Specific challenges include:
- High Costs: The cost of living in Switzerland requires competitive salaries between €3,800 and €6,500 monthly.
- Language Barriers: Although English is becoming more accepted, mastery of German (German-speaking Switzerland) or French (French-speaking Switzerland) is often still required.
- Administrative Complexity: Hiring procedures, even temporary ones, remain restrictive.
- High Expectations: Swiss engineers seek more than just salary, considering company culture, work-life balance, and development opportunities.
The Specificities of the Swiss Market
Temporary recruitment in Switzerland presents unique specificities:
- High Quality Standards: Swiss companies maintain strict requirements, even for temporary positions. Training, experience, and technical skills are carefully scrutinized.
- Importance of Networking: In a country where 1 in 4 unemployed engineers finds a job without applying, the professional network becomes a major asset.
- Regional Differences: Zurich, German-speaking Switzerland, and the Lake Geneva region show different dynamics in terms of needs and sought-after profiles.
The Talent Shortage in Engineering: Causes and Consequences
Introduction to the Talent Crisis
The engineer shortage in Switzerland results from a combination of mutually reinforcing structural factors. Understanding these causes is essential for developing sustainable solutions.
The Deep Causes of the Shortage
- Insufficient Domestic Succession: Despite a slight increase in enrollment in MINT fields (Mathematics, IT, Natural Sciences, Technology), the number of graduates remains largely insufficient to cover needs. Between 2016 and 2020, enrollments in electrical engineering at HES (Universities of Applied Sciences) dropped from 413 to 353 first-year students. Young Swiss people are not influenced by the labour shortage when choosing their field of study. They lean more towards social and human sciences, perceived as offering more opportunities to shape society.
- Underrepresentation of Women: Women make up less than 30% of engineering students, although they represent 60% of high school graduates. In the labour market, they account for only 27% of the workforce in industry compared to 45% in the overall economy. Only 10 to 15% of management staff in engineering firms are women. This underrepresentation significantly exacerbates the existing shortage and represents a largely untapped talent pool.
- Demographic Change: The aging of the active population accentuates the shortage. A peak of retirements is expected by 2028, which will further widen the gap between supply and demand.
- Skills Mismatch: Even when candidates are available, their skills do not always match the profiles sought by companies. Needs are rapidly evolving with digitalization and technological transitions.
- Limits of International Recruitment: Although immigration has helped cover some of the needs, this solution is reaching its limits. Germany and France, the main talent pools, are themselves experiencing an engineer shortage. Moreover, language barriers and the specificities of the Swiss market (particularly in civil engineering) complicate international recruitment.
Consequences for Companies
Operational Impact
- Project Delays: The inability to fill certain positions leads to delays in project execution.
- Work Overload: Existing teams must compensate, generating stress and the risk of burnout.
- Loss of Contracts: Some companies must refuse opportunities due to a lack of human resources.
Financial Impact
- High Recruitment Costs: The search for rare candidates requires substantial budgets.
- Wage Inflation: Competition pushes salaries up.
- Loss of Competitiveness: Shortages hinder innovation and growth.
Strategic Impact
- Braking Innovation: The lack of engineers limits companies' capacity for innovation.
- Dependence on External Consultants: High costs and loss of control over key skills.
- Difficulty Developing: Geographical or sectoral expansion becomes problematic.
Strategies for Attracting the Best Temporary Talents
Introduction to Recruitment Strategies
In a tight market, attracting the best temporary talents requires a strategic and differentiated approach. Companies must stand out to attract candidates who have a wide range of choices.
Develop an Attractive Value Proposition
Beyond Salary
While remuneration remains important (engineer salaries in Switzerland range between €3,800 for beginners and €6,500 for experienced profiles), talents now seek a complete package:
- Flexibility: Possibility of remote work, flexible hours (Gleitzeit system).
- Professional Development: Access to continuing education via Temptraining.ch after a certain number of hours.
- Work-Life Balance: Respect for the minimum 4 weeks of vacation, human management of working time.
- Stimulating Projects: Varied assignments allowing for the acquisition of diversified experience.
- Company Culture: Positive work environment and shared values.
Highlight the Temporary Experience
Temporary work offers unique advantages that must be emphasized:
- Variety of Assignments: Exposure to different sectors and technologies.
- Career Acceleration: Rapid acquisition of diverse skills.
- Professional Network: Multiple contacts in the industry.
- Springboard to Permanent: 58% of temporary workers operate in services, 26% in industry, and many transition to permanent positions.
Optimize the Recruitment Process
Reactivity and Speed
In a candidate market, speed is crucial. The best profiles receive multiple offers simultaneously. A process that is too long causes candidates to be lost.
- Best practices: Response to applications within 48h maximum, interviews scheduled within the week, final decision within 5 to 8 days for standard positions, use of specialized agencies to accelerate the process.
Administrative Simplification
Temporary placement agencies manage the entire administrative part: AVS number application, pension fund procedures, salary statement issuance, social insurance management. This delegation allows companies to concentrate on their core business while benefiting from optimal flexibility.
Collaborate with Specialized Agencies
The advantages of temporary recruitment agencies:
- Access to a pre-qualified pool: Database of already evaluated candidates.
- Sectoral expertise: In-depth knowledge of trades and skills.
- Time saving: Pre-selection and administrative management.
- Contractual flexibility: Try & Hire formulas, renewable assignments.
- Replacement guarantee: If the candidate is not suitable.
74% of temporary workers in Switzerland were foreigners in 2019; agencies greatly facilitate international recruitment.
Focus on Employer Branding
- Optimized Digital Presence: Active LinkedIn, attractive career site, visibility on social media.
- Academic Partnerships: Collaboration with EPF, HES, and universities, internships, participation in job forums.
- Referral Programs: Setting up a system of co-optation bonuses can multiply qualified applications.
Overcoming the Talent Shortage in Switzerland
Introduction to Sustainable Solutions
Beyond recruitment strategies, overcoming the shortage requires structural actions involving companies, academic institutions, and public authorities.
Short-Term Solutions for Companies
- Optimize the Use of Existing Resources: Talent retention, continuing education, valuing seniors, versatility.
- Expand the Recruitment Pool: Professional retraining (physicists, mathematicians), cross-border workers (France, Germany, Italy), return of Swiss expatriates, retired engineers.
- Flexibilize Work Organization: Extended remote work, part-time and job sharing, flexible hours (Gleitzeit system), renewable short assignments.
- Automation and Digitalization: Reducing repetitive tasks, utilizing AI for assistance, optimizing processes (BIM, digital twins).
Medium and Long-Term Solutions
- Invest in Training: Reinforcing MINT fields, promoting the image of technical trades, co-creation of programs with HES.
- Attract and Retain Women Engineers: With only 30% of women in engineering fields, this pool represents huge potential. Strategies include: Mentorship programs, family flexibility, fighting bias, ensuring equal pay (median salary for engineers is CHF 117,000).
- Facilitate Qualified Immigration: Simplifying procedures for qualified engineers outside the EU/EFTA, accelerating diploma recognition, and increasing the acceptance of English as a working language (60% of recruitments).
- Strengthen the Attractiveness of Industry: Modernizing the image, improving working conditions, competitive salaries, highlighting stimulating technical projects.
